Men’s Soccer Faces Marshall in Sun Belt Semifinals
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fifth-seeded Kentucky men’s soccer (7-6-4, 3-3-3 Sun Belt) has advanced to the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament where it will face top-seeded Marshall (15-2, 7-2) Wednesday for a 7 p.m. EST matchup in Huntington, W.Va. at the Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.
Marshall earned the tournament’s No. 1 seed after finishing atop the standings to claim its first Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship. As the top-seeded team, The Herd has hosted a trio of tournament matches while No. 2 seed UCF has also hosted a pair of quarterfinal matches and a semifinal matchup at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The Wildcats and Thundering Herd will go head-to-head in Huntington while No. 3 West Virginia and No. 7 South Carolina will face off in Orlando for a chance to battle for the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. The championship match will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m. local time.
UK and MU hold a longtime rivalry dating back to 1991. The two programs were previously in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and Conference USA (C-USA) together before transitioning to the Sun Belt last year. Following the regular season contest, which ended in a 2-0 upset victory for Kentucky, the two programs hold an all-time series record of 22-12-5 (UK).
Sophomore Casper Mols shut out The Herd with four saves in 90 minutes of regulation. Marshall had not been shut out in 14 matches, since Nov. 27, 2022 in the NCAA Tournament against Indiana, and had not been shut out at home since the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last year against James Madison. The victory was the biggest upset to date in Kentucky program history.
Live stats will be available for the match against Marshall by clicking here. Fans can also stream the contest on ESPN+. For more information on the conference tournament, click here.
2023 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Tournament
Quarterfinals – Sunday, November 5
Hosted by No. 1 Marshall
Match 1 – (1) Marshall 2, (8) Old Dominion 0
Match 2 – (5) Kentucky 2, (4) James Madison 1
Hosted by No. 2 UCF
Match 3 – (3) West Virginia 3, (6) Georgia State 1
Match 4 – (7) South Carolina 2, (2) UCF 1
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 8
Hosted by No. 1 Marshall
Match 5 – (1) Marshall vs. (5) Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Hosted by No. 2 UCF
Match 6 – (3) West Virginia vs. (7) South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Championship – Sunday, November 12
Hosted by Highest Remaining Seed
Match 7 – Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 1 p.m.
For the latest on Kentucky Men’s Soccer, follow @UKMensSoccer on X, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
