By David Schuh

The UK women’s soccer team (5-0-0) welcomes the Louisville Cardinals to Lexington Friday as part of the Tropical Smoothie Invitational.

Head coach Jon Lipsitz expects an electric atmosphere for one of the most intense rivalries in the country.

“When I was hired here almost three years ago, I didn’t really understand what this rivalry meant, “ Lipsitz said. “But it was so loud the first time we played that my players couldn’t hear me. That environment is what we love about athletics, especially here at UK.”

Louisville enters the game with a 1-3-1 record, having lost both games in its tournament last weekend against Central Michigan and Baylor — a tournament that UK won after beating both teams.

But, being favored in a game of this magnitude, the excitement will be at a high level.

“The mentality is always a little higher for this game,” junior forward Kelsey Hunyadi said. “We’re going to be pumped up, but at the same time we need to stay level-headed. The excitement can be a good thing.”

UK is off to its best start in 10 years. To keep that the undefeated streak going, Lipsitz says his team must continue to focus on the little things.

“We have really spent the majority of the week focusing on ourselves,” Lipsitz said. “The key this early in the season is focusing on the minor details. I think we’ve done that well and will have to continue in order to beat Louisville.”

The game is advertised as UK Student Night, and the first 50 UK students through the gate have a chance to win UK Nike gear. It is also the first Fraternity Challenge night. Game time is set for 7:30.