Kentucky men’s club lacrosse failed to crack double digits in a 15-9 loss against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday, March 25, at Henry Clay High School in Lexington.

Despite the Cats’ opening faceoff win, the Vols came out with ferocity, slinging an impressive eight first-quarter goals past Kentucky sophomore goalie Bryce Moad.

Kentucky struggled to maintain possession of the ball on offense and was only able to see itself net three goals in the same time span.

After constant turnovers from the Cats, quick midfield substitutions from Tennessee and its ability to clear the ball quickly up the sidelines kept the Vols a step ahead in transition.

By the break, the score was 9-4 and looking to be an impressive blowout in favor of the Vols.

Kentucky hoped to get back in it after having its measly four goals doubled in the first half, but is lack of ability to make defensive slides on time led to many one-on-one opportunities for the Vols.

The Cats eventually fell to an eight point, 14-6 deficit by the end of the third quarter.

There was no scarcity of ball movement for the fast-paced Tennessee team that saw eight different goal scorers contribute on offense, headlined by sophomore attackman Jack Scott, who tallied five goals in just the first three quarters.

The Wildcats failed to capitalize on their fast-break opportunities and their frantic scrambling to try and erase the lead late in the game was unsuccessful.

By the fourth quarter, Tennessee felt comfortable enough to begin slowing down its offensive firepower but made sure to secure its win with a bar-down dagger with 12-and-a-half minutes to play.

In the pair’s matchup early this season Tennessee outlasted Kentucky 8-7, sealing the deal with an overtime game winning goal.

Kentucky will go on to face Cincinnati and Ohio State on April 13 and Notre Dame and Syracuse on April 20 in its final four matches of the season.