Kentucky men’s soccer had three players that played for Lionsbridge FC over the summer in Newport News, Virginia.

Isaiah Chisolm, Joel Gonzalez and Josh Gordon were all sophomores who were lucky enough to be able to regroup with each other on and off the field over the past summer.

The Kentucky Wildcats had far from the perfect season in 2024, but piecing together what the players have learned from each game and keeping focused helped the Cats to find the successes they had during the season.

“I think so far, we’re at a point where we’re trying to turn the season around a little bit,” Gordon had said during the season. “We had a rough start, and I think at the moment, we’re kind of finding our team together and getting that chemistry together. Just little moments that we have to focus on staying switched on in our box and in the opposition’s box, those little moments where you’re kind of losing focus. I think those are areas that we would just need to brush up on so that we can get our results and clean sheets and score goals to get the win.”  

Gordon’s teammates agreed.

“Yeah, I agree. I think we’re coming off a loss, and, before that, we had a win and a few ties,” Chisolm said. “And I think there’s just something to take away from each game, like our tries, we have had shoutouts, scored goals. I think it’s just a matter of time for it to all come together.” 

At the time of the interview, the Wildcats were coming off a win against Old Dominion after a loss on the road against Indiana. Gordon started for the Wildcats that match, where he played a strong leadership role, both defensively and offensively.

All three players have been able to improve their chemistry with each other on and off the field. Playing for Lionsbridge FC over the summer intensified their connection, knowing each other’s playing style. 

“I think chemistry is not only on the field but is off the field,” Gonzalez said. “When it was actually Josh’s birthday, we went out, had a seafood boil and just chilled out. Seafood got a little messy, but moments like those, chilling together, really helps the chemistry grow.”  

As was the case with Gordon, Gonzalez’s teammates agreed with the sentiment.

“We just could connect a lot together, like Josh has two assists to me and I’m scoring those goals,” Chisolm said. “With Joel, he has the ball because he’s a center back, I can know how to tie those runs. He knows how to play the right ball, just because we played together over the summer.”

Transitioning from Lionsbridge FC to Kentucky has been an adjustment for the players. The coaching style, positioning, the formation and even the environment are different from each other.

Chisolm’s position didn’t change when he went to play for Lionsbridge, he stayed playing forward, while both Gonzalez and Gordon play the same position: fullback and center back. For the Kentucky Wildcats, Gordon has a bit of a more attacking role when he is playing wingback and gets to be higher up on the field.  

Being able to play for Lionsbridge gave them a bit more of an edge and connection to bring to Kentucky, provided more energy, strength and taught them to be more aggressive on and off the ball. 

“Lionsbridge was a lot more rah, rah energy,” Gonzalez said. “Like, just go on a team and keep going at them until they get basically destroyed, but here is a little bit more tactical in terms of positionally on and off the ball.”

Gonzalez wasn’t the only player who felt Kentucky’s style was more technical than that of Lionsbridge in the amateur USL League Two.

“It’s more technical, more tactical,” Chisolm said. “The coaches are analyzing every detail of each scout we do and, over at Lionsbridge, it was a more relaxed environment. Here, it’s more professional.” 

Thirteen new players joined the Kentucky Wildcats team this past fall. With the experience that each of the three had playing at Lionsbridge — and the chance to play with players who are two to three years older — it all came together to be very helpful to become leaders and help guide the newcomers in the right direction with the Wildcats.

“From those older players, you can take their experience, because they have a lot of experience, and they were good at sharing that with us,” Chisolm said. “So, I think just taking what we’ve learned from them and bringing it here is a big help.”

Chisolm, from Yorktown, Virginia, was lucky enough to be able to play right down the road from his hometown this past summer. This was his first season with the Lionsbridge FC, and he had some goals of his own and will be returning back to the Lionsbridge for next summer season.  

“Growing up in that area I get to know a lot of people, whether it’s old teammates in the crowd that I see or teachers or like family members, just like anybody,” he said. “So, it’s fun to be like, proof that you can make it out of that area, especially since soccer is not too big there. It was just cool to play in front of all of them.”

Gordon has been able to experience the professional setting before — he grew up playing for Toronto FC and, through its academy, he started playing since U12.

Now that he is at Kentucky, Gordon does not play for Toronto FC anymore, but chose to stay in the semiprofessional field with Lionsbridge FC over this past summer. He is still unsure if he will be returning to Lionsbridge for this upcoming season.

“The reason why I went to Lionsbridge was to keep the connection that I have with some of my teammates,” Gordon said. “The second reason was also to stay at a high level over the summer and the third reason was to stay fit and work on some areas that I want to improve on, like some of my crossing so I can get more assists. I spoke to some of the Lionsbridge coaches, and they said I’d play a fullback role where I’d be able to get work on a lot of those areas of improvement.” 

Gonzalez, who is from Georgia, was able to spend his summer in Virginia to continue improving on his skills, staying in shape and playing at the high professional level. He is in the same boat as Gordon whether he will be returning to Lionsbridge or not. As of the season, Gonzalez was just focusing on his fall season with the Wildcats.  

“It was a good level, they’re actually a really good team, to the point where they’re consistently in playoffs,” he said. “And my favorite thing is to play for a trophy, so I just want to do my best to go for a trophy and then on top of that, play with my boys.”