Wildcats Welcome Xavier in Spring Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats (5-1) are set to commence the spring 2021 season on Tuesday, hosting the Xavier Musketeers (1-0) at 1 p.m. ET. Clay Ables will be live on the call for ESPN+.
Kentucky is coming off an abbreviated fall 2020 slate that concluded with a five-game winning streak, as well as with a No. 3 peak ranking by United Soccer Coaches.
The Wildcats return 21 players from last fall, including Conference USA Preseason Team upperclassmen Marcel Meinzer and Enrique Facusse. Sophomore Eythor Bjorgolfsson and junior Daniel Evans lead all returners with six points apiece over the first six matches of 2020-21.
Xavier enters Tuesday fresh off a 2-0 win at ETSU last Friday. The Musketeers did not compete last fall.
Kentucky holds a 7-5-3 advantage in its all-time head-to-head series with Xavier, though the matchup has most recently ended with four straight overtime contests and three consecutive ties. The teams last played to a 2-2 double-overtime draw in Lexington on Sept. 11, 2019.
Evans and team captain Bailey Rouse both scored in the last outing, with the latter earning a spot on ESPN’s “SportsCenter Top 10 Plays” for his equalizer in the 68th minute.
Admission is free to all spring 2021 soccer matches. To purchase a fan cutout of a person or pet, visit UKAthletics.com/FanCutouts. For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
