The UK men’s soccer team opened its season at the Bell Soccer Complex in front of 1,248 fans Tuesday night against the Duquesne Dukes with a 1-0 victory.

Cats junior keeper Stuart Ford starts his UK career off with two clean sheets.

It is hard to replace a player like All-American Callum Irving, but Ford has held his own the first two games of the 2016 campaign.

Ford’s play caught his teammates’ eyes and Jordan Wilson had nothing but praise for his keeper.

“Stuart’s been really good, he’s been a rock back there,” said Wilson. “He’s coming in with a lot of confidence. He played really well in the preseason with commanding the box and his confidence has soared each day.”

Coming off a two-goal performance against Marquette for one of the nation’s best players, senior Napo Matsoso struggled to find a rhythm in the first half. Duquesne swarmed Matsoso every time the ball was in his possession.

Junior Noah Hutchins scored in the 48th minute, his first of the season, to give the Cats their second win of the season. Senior Jordan Wilson assisted on the play. It was a great start to the second half for the Cats after a lackluster first half in which UK struggled to finish in the box.

Wilson, who was very aggressive in the win, said his team’s confidence is getting better by the day. Starting out the season with two straight wins doesn’t hurt either.

“Confidence is great right now, we got a great win on the road against Marquette,” said Wilson. “It’s great to come here, where we were excited for the home opener, and get a win.”

Although the first half ended in a tie, UK was the more aggressive team coming into the game.

The Cats had many chances to score in the first half, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities.

UK Goalkeeper Stuart Ford had two saves in the first half and the Cats outshot the Dukes 9-4 in the first 45 minutes, but Duquesne came on late with a couple threats at the end the half.

Junior Hampus Agerstrom had 5 shot attempts in the first half, going wide on a couple of opportunities in the box.

Senior Paul Sime had the only shot on goal for the Cats in the first half.

The Cats dominated the second half as majority of possession and the half was played on Duquesne’s side of the field.

The Cats had many chances to break the game wide open after scoring the first goal of the game, but a stellar play from Duquesne keeper Evan Kozlowski prevented the game from getting out of hand.

UK outshot the Dukes 17-8 during the game, edging past their opponent in corners by one.

A penalty in the 69th minute gave Napo Matsoso an opportunity for his third goal of the season, but a diving save by Kozlowski cleared the ball back into play.

The Kentucky defense held their own after a shaky end to the first half, but they finished the game with great tackling, clearing, and stellar goalkeeping.

The Cats are back on the pitch Friday, Sept. 2 at the Bell against Dartmouth.