Cats Excited to Keep Run Going in Lipscomb Rematch

The package arrived at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex on Tuesday: six game balls, fresh from the NCAA. The balls are to be used in Saturday’s Sweet 16, when No. 3 overall seed Kentucky hosts Lipscomb at 7 p.m.
 
Two months ago, soon after UK played at Lipscomb in the regular season, the prospects that the balls would eventually be delivered seemed somewhat in doubt.
 
That match brought what would end up being an exceptionally rare lapse in focus from the Wildcats.
 
“I think it was one of our games that we struggled in terms of mentality,” head coach Johan Cedergren said on Wednesday. “We went up really early. I think it was three minutes into the first half that we scored and then we scored a second in the second half, so we were winning 2-0 and then they came back to 2-2.”
 
UK would escape with a win thanks to some overtime brilliance from JJ Williams, who kicked his All-American candidacy into high gear by chipping the goalkeeper in outstanding fashion for the golden goal. The Cats had lessons to learn nonetheless.
 
“One of the core values that we talk about all the time is humble,” Cedergren said. “I don’t think that we were very humble. All of a sudden we weren’t doing a lot of the things that we need to defensively. We didn’t track runners, we didn’t make sure that we won 50-50 challenges.”
 
The rest of the season, would bring an outstanding response by UK. The Cats have lost just once in 14 matches since, rolling to the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles and earning the right to host in the NCAA Tournament all the way until the Final Four. In UK’s lone tournament game so far, the Cats dispatched Portland with a comprehensive 4-0 victory.
 
“If you look at what we did since that Lipscomb game, I think we’ve gotten better every week and that we are a very different team playing Lipscomb now than when we played in the regular season,” Cedergren said.”
 
The Cats hardly need any added motivation with the first Elite Eight berth in program history on the line, but they’ll get it anyway with the Bisons coming to town.
 
“I think the guys are really excited for this draw to get a chance to do better against a team that we’ve played already,” Cedergren said.
 
The thing is, Lipscomb is playing some pretty good soccer, too.
 
When the Bisons lost to UK in September, it was the fifth loss in a seven-game early season losing streak, with three coming in overtime. Lipscomb has rallied in a big way to reach this point, winning nine times in regulation, losing just twice and advancing in penalty kicks in the NCAA Tournament first round at Washington. Three days later, the Bisons crossed the country to upset No. 14 national seed UCF with a 97th-minute overtime goal.
 
Impressive as that might be, the Cats aren’t questioning themselves.
 
“If we played like we did on Sunday against Portland, then I think we will be just fine and I think we will get six more balls from the NCAA,” Cedergren said.