Kentucky Falls to Late Louisville Goal in 89th Minute
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 16 Kentucky men’s soccer (1-2-1) recorded the second consecutive loss of the fall to No. 15 Louisville (4-1, 0-1 ACC) on Monday at The Bell Soccer Complex.
Big Blue Nation did what they did best and showed up for the Cats’ match presenting an attendance of 1,439.
In the first 45 minutes of regulation, both programs fought for an opportunity to enter halftime with the advantage. UK recorded seven shots while UL showed nine with equal saves for both teams. Near the end of the half, tempers began to flair as three Cardinals, JP Jordan, Olayinka Ogunleye and Gage Guerra, earned yellow cards. Sophomore Isaiah Chisolm earned one for the Wildcats.
With the match sitting 0-0 entering the second half of the contest, both teams continued to fight for a point on the board. In the 58’, the teams once again earned a slew of penalties. Louisville’s head coach John Michael Hayden was assessed a yellow card along with player Josh Jones. Ogunleye earned his second yellow of the match which resulted in a combined red card leaving the Cardinals down one man. However, the players on the field were equalized by Kentucky freshman Mateo Franzotti who also earned one red. This resulted in both teams going head-to-head with only 10 players on the pitch.
The Wildcats and Cardinals battled throughout the match holding a 0-0 tie until the 89’ when Louisville’s Leon Kondic shot a right-footed ball to the top left of the net. The late game-winning goal was assisted by teammate Jack Lewis. Prior to that goal, one final Cardinal, Ola Arntsen, was assessed a yellow card for unsporting behavior in the 85th minute.
Kentucky keeper Casper Mols recorded seven saves on the evening as he continued to deny Cardinal goals before their lucky strike in the final minutes of the match. Mols’ two punch outs and diving saves held the in-state rival for most of the match. Five of the seven saves were recorded in the second half of regulation.
The Cats recorded five shots on goal in Agustin Lopez (2), Eric Onos (1), Oliver Stavdal (1) and Chisolm (1).
The long-time in-state rivalry between the men’s soccer programs dates back to 1979 where UK came out on top, 4-0, in enemy territory. Since then, the two programs have faced off 39 times holding an all-time series record of 18-16-5 (UK).
The Wildcats will face the first road test of the season on Saturday in Nashville as they take on Lipscomb at 8 p.m. EST. They will return to The Bell the following Friday for the start of conference play against Georgia Southern.
Big Blue Nation can purchase single match, group, and season tickets by clicking here. Tickets will also be available for purchase upon arrival to The Bell. Gates will open one hour prior to kick-off.
For the latest on Kentucky Men’s Soccer, follow @UKMensSoccer on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
