No. 16 Kentucky men’s soccer (1-2-1) suffered its second consecutive loss of the fall against No. 15 Louisville (4–1) on Monday at The Bell Soccer Complex.
Despite the result, Big Blue Nation did what it does best and showed up for the Cats’ rivalry match with an attendance of 1,439.
In the first 45 minutes, both teams fought for an opportunity to enter halftime with the advantage. Kentucky recorded seven shots while Louisville showed nine with equal saves for both teams.
Near the end of the half, tempers began to flare as three Cardinals, JP Jordan, Olayinka Ogunleye and Gage Guerra all earned yellow cards. Sophomore Isaiah Chisolm also earned one for the Wildcats.
With the match still sitting 0-0 entering the second half of the game, both teams continued to fight for a point on the board.
In the 58th minute, the teams once again earned a slew of penalties. Louisville’s head coach John Michael Hayden was issued a yellow card along with Cardinal Josh Jones. Ogunleye earned his second yellow of the match, which resulted in an accumulation red card, leaving the Cardinals down one man, however, this was soon rectified when Kentucky freshman Mateo Franzotti also earned a red card after review. These bookings resulted in both teams going head-to-head with only 10 players on the pitch.
The Wildcats and Cardinals battled throughout the match, holding a 0-0 tie until the 89th minute when Louisville’s Leon Kondic shot a right-footed ball to the top left of the net. The late game-winning goal was assisted by teammate Jack Lewis.
Prior to the goal, one final Cardinal, Ola Arntsen, was assessed a yellow card for unsporting behavior in the 85th minute.
Kentucky goalkeeper Casper Mols recorded seven saves on the evening as he continued to deny Cardinal goals before their lucky strike in the final minutes of the match. Mols’ two punch outs and diving saves held the in-state rival level for most of the match with five of the seven saves being recorded in the second half of regulation.
The Cats recorded five shots on goal with Agustin Lopez (two), Eric Onos (one), Oliver Stavdal (one) and Chisolm (one) making the attempts.
The long time in-state rivalry between the men’s soccer programs dates back to 1979 where Kentucky came out on top 4-0 in enemy territory. Since then, the two programs have faced off 39 times, with UK holding an all-time series record of 18-16-5.
Up next, the Wildcats will face their first road test of the season on Saturday in Nashville as they take on Lipscomb at 8 p.m. ET. The Cats will then return to The Bell the following Friday for the start of conference play against Georgia Southern.
