Wildcats Host No. 10 West Virginia in Top 25 Showdown on Sunday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 25 Kentucky Wildcats (8-2-3, 5-1-0 SBC) return to Lexington tomorrow night after a successful road trip to Statesboro, Ga. for another top 25 Sun Belt showdown against the No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2-2, 5-1-0 SBC) at 7 p.m. at The Bell.
Sunday night’s matchup against West Virginia will feature as the Wildcats’ fourth top 25 contest in their last five outings, with the winner looking to claim sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference and a high-profile win ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky is coming off a 2-1 win over No. 20 Georgia Southern on Wednesday in Statesboro, improving the Cats’ SBC record to 5-1 and 8-2-3 on the season. In the midweek victory over the Eagles, senior midfielder Kevin Larsson scored the first two goals of his Wildcat career, coming off assists from Josh Gordon and Agustin Lopez, to lift Kentucky to their second ranked win of the year and their first since the season-opening, 2-1 win over No. 20 Western Michigan.
The Wildcats are entering the final three-game stretch of the season with Sunday’s matchup at The Bell. Following the meeting with West Virginia, the Cats will close out their slate of home games on senior night against the Georgia State Panthers on Halloween, and concluding the regular season in Norfolk, Va. in a matchup against Old Dominion on Nov. 4.
Graduate midfielder Alex Ruiz continues to lead the Wildcats’ attack with six goals, three assists, tied with sophomore forward Joaquin Brizuela, 15 points, 23 shots and 12 shots on goal. Preseason SBC Goalkeeper of the Year and Hermann Award Midseason Watchlist recipient Sebastian Conlon currently ranks third in the Sun Belt with five clean sheets and fourth in saves per game at .702 in 13 starts between the posts.
West Virginia travels to Lexington entering the weekend at 10-2-2 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. After suffering a 2-1 loss to Georgia State in Atlanta, the Mountaineers bounced-back with a 1-0 win at home over the Old Dominion Monarchs during the midweek action in the Sun Belt.
The Mountaineers are led on the offensive end by junior forward Pablo Pozos, who currently leads the Sun Belt Conference with 10 goals this season, along with senior forward Marcus Caldeira, who ranks fourth in the conference with seven goals and second in assists with seven.
Kickoff for Kentucky vs. West Virginia is set for 7 p.m. ET, streaming on ESPN+. The promotional theme for tomorrow’s match is rivalry night, including a free UK men’s soccer scarf giveaway. Admission to all 2025 Kentucky soccer matches is free to all fans.
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.
