Kentucky men’s soccer is still searching for the first win of the season after losing four out of the last five games. The Wildcats were predicted to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Preseason coaches poll, and now, that seems a little far-fetched.

In Friday’s home matchup against the Marshall Thundering Herd, the Cats came out playing with fire, setting the tone early with a few shots on goal within just a few minutes. The first half on Sept. 19 had a great back-and-forth flow, with both sides playing aggressively.

Around the 12th minute, Marshall’s offense started to find its rhythm, putting pressure on UK’s defense. Eventually, both teams went into the locker room all squared up at zero.

Marshall’s offense really started to click on all cylinders during the start of the second half. Things were all even up until the 59th minute, when forward Joshua Nugent hit a strike past Kentucky’s keeper and into the back of the net.

Kentucky was able to get a few shots on goal, including having the ball roll in front of Marshall’s net, but no one was in position to even things up.

Time ran out on the Cats, and they were unable to find the equalizer, leading to yet another loss and remaining winless on the year.

Head coach Johan Cedergren pointed to the defense afterward: “I think we played well. We limited one of the best attacking teams in the country to one or two chances and we had five unbelievable chances.”

In regard to the squad still being winless, he mentioned that he never expected in 15 years to be at this point. When asked about the performance today, coach said, “I’m proud of how the guys played today, and of course I’m disappointed in the result. I know that everyone is disappointed with how our results have gone so far this year, but I feel like we are close.”

I asked what “close” looks like. He pointed to missed opportunities, rather than not having them at all: “We just got to keep doing what we’re doing. Again, if we aren’t creating chances, then we would have to go back and say ok that’s not working. But today, you know, the ball’s rolling across the goal line, then we have a header with a minute to go that’s six yards out, and we miss…”

He circled back to the same theme a bit later: “I just think over 15 years, those looks go in, and unfortunately for us today, all four of them didn’t. I don’t know why, but I do know we are playing well and we’re creating chances; we’re just going to have to find a way to keep working.”

The bright side right now for Cedergren and the squad is that the season is incredibly young, and there is a long way to go. Coach said it himself, “Hopefully we’re peaking at the right time because we sure as of right now are not peaking currently.”

The Wildcats will look to get their first win of the season when they travel to play Lipscomb on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Match time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.

The Bearcat Invitational, hosted by the University of Cincinnati, wrapped up its two-day tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Wildcats tied for seventh, along with Maryland, in the 17-team tournament at Coldstream Country Club.

Kentucky finished with a team total of one over par.

On Monday, Sept. 14, the Wildcats were four under par, putting them in sixth place ahead of day one. Sophomore Gabriel Hull scored six under par after round two. His performance ranks as the sixth-best 18-hole round in program history, dating back to the 2001-02 season.

Individually, Hull was tied for 26th place on the leaderboard along with Cameron Phillips, Cole Stockard and Jacob Settles, all while also making the top 20 of the individual leaderboard.

For day two, Kentucky was five over as a group with junior Jacob Lang leading on the day with a one under par score. Hull finished with a tie for 14th on the individual leaderboard after an even score in round three.

“Gabe [Hull] really stepped up the final two rounds for us,” head coach Gator Todd said. “He has real game and he’s starting to show what he’s capable of.”

The final leaderboard was posted as:
T14: Gabriel Hull (76-65-71)
T21: Cole Stockard (70-70-73)
T28: Cameron Phillips (69-70-75)
T28: Jacob Settles* (72-68-74)
T55: Jacob Lang (73-75-70)
T77: Gavin Clutts (73-74-75)
Bold = Counting Score
*Individual

“We did not have our best stuff this week, but I am proud of the way the guys hung in there,” Todd said. The Wildcat’s next tournament will be held on Sept. 28 in Lake Forest, IL for the Windon Memorial Classic.

Kentucky Softball kicked off the fall season at John Cropp Stadium on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 13, taking down the Louisville Cardinals in a 9-1 win. In the 10-inning exhibition match, the Wildcats had an impressive 11 hits with only one error, while the Cardinals had five hits and two errors.

The game began with the score locked at 0-0 for the first part of the game, until Kentucky’s bats came alive in the fourth inning.

The Wildcats put up some impressive numbers, both on offense and defense. On the defensive side, Kentucky locked down the Cardinals to four total 1-2-3 innings. Most plays were made in the field, with only six strikeouts from the blue and white pitchers.

One of the best highlights of the evening a two-run home run by junior infielder Allie Blum in the ninth inning, capping off a fun nine-run performance. The Wildcats also stole home twice.

Head coach Rachel Lawson used three pitchers against the Cardinals – RHP McKenzie Oslanzi pitched the first six innings, before being replaced by sophomore RHP Julia Bacoulis. Sophomore Carson Fall closed out the win.

The Wildcats return to action in John Cropp Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20 against Eastern Kentucky, with first pitched schedule for 1:00 p.m. ET. This will also be a 10-inning game.