Many students are still in the process of moving in and classes won’t start until later next week, but UK women’s soccer kicked off their season and the UK Athletics calendar year Friday night in a road match against Long Beach State University.

The Cats came into the season opener with only one preseason match, a win over the Pitt Panthers, to prepare them. But that was enough to help the young team hold for a 1-1 draw against the 49ers.

The Cats started five freshmen in the opener, including goalkeeper Evangeline Soucie who made two saves and allow only one goal in her first college road test.

UK junior Katy Keen opened up scoring for both teams off rebound in the 30th minute. Long Beach State then broke through the Cats’ defense to equalize in the 37th minute, but both defenses held strong after that to force the draw. 

UK had a chance to win in the second half of overtime on a corner kick with 15 seconds left, but the 49ers defense made one last stand to close out the match. 

“I’m incredibly proud of this team for getting a hard-fought result against a fantastic team like Long Beach State,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said after the match. “We came here for a reason, and the main reason being we knew Long Beach would test us in areas that will help us down the road. I have an immense amount of respect for LBSU and I wish them the best of luck.”

The Cats will continue their west coast trip with a match against Pepperdine on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET from Malibu, California.