LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky men?s soccer team will play its third game in five days when it travels to in-state rival Louisville on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game with the Cardinals.
?It?s a tremendous rivalry,? said Kentucky coach Ian Collins. ?I have tremendous respect for the Louisville program. They have a great coaching staff and tremendous players. Louisville is always a tough place to play and I think this game is good for the state of Kentucky and Kentucky soccer.?
The Wildcats are currently 0-2 on the season after suffering tough losses to No. 7 SMU and No. 17 Tulsa over the weekend in the SMU Mi Cocina Classic in a hot and humid Dallas, Texas. Kentucky is in the midst of a 10-day span in which it plays five games.
?This stretch is very difficult,? Collins said. ?It?s not just playing two tough, top 20 opponents, it?s also the weather and the travel. But it will test our mettle a little bit. We?re down a little, but we?re certainly not out. We usually play our best ball when we?re down. I told our team before the season that we were going to have a tough opening and it?s proving to be just that.?
Despite the losses, Kentucky has had a number of players play well early in the season. Jamal Shteiwi has a three-game point streak dating back to last year and he joined Brandon Stewart on the All-Tournament team this past weekend. The Wildcats have also gotten solid play from a number of its freshmen.
?The back two of Thomas Senecal and Brandon Stewart were awesome this weekend,? said Collins. ?Our freshmen — Nathan Marks, Andrew Alexander, Dave Hertel, Michael D?Agostino ? I thought those guys were super as well. Jamal (Shteiwi) obviously played pretty well. Our freshmen have been really impressive, we just need a few more guys than that to step up. Hopefully Tuesday will be the time it happens.?
Meanwhile, Louisville enters the contest 2-0 after wins over Colorado State and Missouri-Kansas City this past weekend. The Cardinal are led by Justin Pierre, who tallied three goals over the weekend.
Kentucky has never lost to the Cardinals in Louisville, posting a 4-0-1 record. Last year, the Wildcats scored a 2-1 double overtime victory on Shteiwi?s breakaway goal.
