Kentucky men’s soccer (2-2-4, 1-0-2 Sun Belt) came out on top at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium with a 2-0 victory over South Carolina (6-2-2, 1-2 Sun Belt), earning its first win since opening the season against Oral Roberts.

The Wildcats snapped a three-match draw streak.

Both goals came in the first half as senior Logan Dorsey scored early for the Wildcats with an assist by Eric Onos to get the Wildcats on the scoreboard. Shortly after, junior Iker Carew scored the second Wildcat goal, being assisted by both Dorsey and Onos.

The Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Ryan Jack, earned his third consecutive clean sheet, shutting out the Gamecocks with five saves. This included in the 89th minute whn he saved a penalty kick.

Diving deeper into the scoring chances, the Wildcats found themselves taking a corner kick in the 16th minute, with the attempt being unsuccessful but yielding a redo. This time, the Wildcats found success as Onos’ corner connected with Dorsey’s head for the first big blue goal of the match. Dorsey’s goal was his second this season while Onos’ assist was his first.

With a 1-0 advantage in the first half over the Gamecocks, the Wildcats found themselves in position again to put their set piece to the test.

This time, another corner kick in the 21st minute from Onos connected with Dorsey, who sent the ball behind his back from his right foot. Newcomer Carew took advantage of the shot opportunity and scored his first career goal as a Wildcat.

With the halftime score being 2-0, 45 minutes separated the Cats from their second win of the season, but it was in the second half that they were truly put to the test as the majority of Jack’s saves in the goal came in the second half of the contest.

He saved two back-to-back scoring attempts from the Gamecocks in the 53rd and 55th minutes and it wasn’t until the 89th that he recorded his fifth and final save as South Carolina set up for a penalty kick. With a shot and a stop, Jack sealed the deal for the Wildcats, locking in the 2-0 win. His junior season record in goal improved to 1-0-2 following the contest.

Since both universities are the only two in the SEC to sponsor men’s soccer, the annual match was dubbed the unofficial SEC Men’s Soccer Championship. Kentucky’s victory brought the theoretical trophy back to the Bluegrass, improving the all-time series record to 12-8-4 (UK) after the first match between UK and USC took place in 1991.

The Wildcats will be back on the road on Tuesday as they prepare to take on Indiana at 7 p.m. ET in enemy territory.