By Kevin Erpenbeck

It might be hard for the UK women’s soccer team to immediately feel satisfied with how the 2014 season ended after coming off a 7-0 drubbing to Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. But the Cats should hold their heads high as they travel back from Charlottesville.

They went through the best season in the history of the program, and sent this year’s senior class out on a perfect note.

Before facing Virginia on Sunday, UK played against Arizona State for the right to go to the Sweet 16. In the two years prior, the Cats played against women’s college soccer juggernaut UCLA with the same right on the line.

They were powerless to win against UCLA then, especially when last year’s Bruins would become the NCAA champions later in the tournament.

But in 2014, UK had a chance against Arizona State. Sure, the Sun Devils were one of only two teams to hold undefeated UCLA to a tie this year, but they’re still not UCLA.

With the opportunity to secure the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance, the Cats pounced and beat the Sun Devils 3-1 on Friday. History had been made, and it capped off what has been a tremendous season for UK, no matter what the result of Sunday’s match against Virginia would have been.

And it ends what has been an extraordinary career for the 2014 seniors.

UK has never had such a successful senior class like this year. At 59-27-4, it has the best record ever achieved in four years at UK. The class of 2014 also gave the program its first NCAA Tournament win in 2012 and its first SEC Tournament win since 2006.

Head coach Jon Lipsitz has said numerous times that this year’s seniors have set a legacy at UK, and he’s right. Forward/defender Arin Gilliland will go down as the best player to ever put on a UK jersey. Midfielder Stuart Pope will be looked upon as a prime example of what it means to overcome numerous challenges during a career, and still be a leader of a team.

The “servant leaders” that Lipsitz has praised all season will leave UK as the best class ever after helping the program have its best season ever.

It may have come on the heels of a painful and lopsided loss, but the ending to the 2014 season and the storybook careers of the 2014 seniors doesn’t get much better than that.