Men’s Soccer Returns to SBC Play, Travels to Conway for Meeting with Coastal Carolina
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats (4-0-3, 1-0-0 SBC) are set to return to Sun Belt Conference play this weekend following the midweek tilt in Louisville, with a trip to Conway, S.C. on the horizon and a matchup against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (1-4-0, 0-1-0 SBC) on Sunday night.
The Wildcats, still unbeaten through seven games, rose four spots in the week six United Soccer Coaches’ poll from No. 22 to 18, featuring as one four ranked Sun Belt programs, including No. 4 Marshall, No. 10 West Virginia and No. 19 Georgia Southern.
The Cats will look to remain unbeaten with the upcoming trip to Conway, S.C., following a 2-2 draw in a mid-week matchup against archrival Louisville Cardinals. In their meeting Tuesday night, the Cardinals struck first to open the scoring with a goal in the 47th minute by Nicholas Parham, coming off an assist from Bilal Camara to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead early in the second half.
Later in the half, the Wildcats would find their equalizer from Alex Ruiz, scoring his team-high sixth goal in seven games this season, setup by a perfectly timed through ball from Isaiah Chisolm in the 64th minute. Ruiz sliced through the Cardinal defense and beat Svetanoff in a 1v1 battle to level the scoreline at 1-1 with 25 minutes remaining in the match.
Just four minutes of gametime passed before the Cats found their second goal of the night, this time with Chisolm on the receiving end, with incredible buildup play coming from Agustin Lopez and Bains Smith, propelling the Cats to a 2-1 lead in the 68th minute.
The ensuing 20 minutes would pass with minimal scoring chances on either side, until, for the second consecutive season, the Cardinals would score an 89th minute goal, this time to rescue a 2-2 draw, coming from forward Ryan Quintos off a corner kick, narrowly sneaking into the near post of the Wildcats’ net.
After 90 minutes of a back-and-forth affair, and an effort that saw Kentucky nearly complete a come from behind win on the road, the battle in the bluegrass would end in a 2-2 draw in Louisville.
Coastal Carolina enters the week with an overall record of 1-4-0 on the season, most recently facing the fourth-ranked Thundering Herd, resulting in a 2-1 loss on the road. Interim head coach Chris Fidler took over at the helm for the Chants prior to the start of the 2025 season following the retirement of head coach Shaun Docking from the program after 27 seasons as the head coach in Conway.
The Chants are led on the offensive end by three players with two goals thus far this season, including Jaland Larmond, Angel Lopez and Christian Cook, as well as midfielder Loed Klaasen record a team-high four assists, ranking with a share of third in the NCAA.
Kickoff for Kentucky vs. Coastal Carolina is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at the CCU Soccer Stadium in Conway, S.C., streaming on ESPN+.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on X, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
