Kentucky Women’s Soccer Releases 2025 Schedule

LEXINGTON, Ky. –  On the back of the program’s largest win total and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, the Kentucky women’s soccer program unveiled its 2025 slate of matches on Friday. Head Coach Troy Fabiano’s squad will play 15 matches at the Bell Soccer Complex across exhibitions and regular season play and square off against five NCAA Tournament squads from a season ago.

The Wildcats will prepare for the 2025 campaign with a pair of exhibition matches, hosting Austin Peay on Sunday, August 3 and welcoming Xavier on Saturday, August 9. This will be the second straight season in which the Musketeers have traveled to Lexington for a preseason friendly, with Xavier contesting the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

Fabiano will begin his fourth season at the helm of Kentucky soccer on Thursday, August 14 at the Bell against Jackson State, a match that will commence a five-week homestand to start the season. The Cats will close the opening weekend of play on Sunday, August 17 against West Georgia.

The Cats will continue non-conference action in the friendly confines of the Bell on Thursday, August 21, as East Tennessee State makes the trek north to Lexington. Detroit Mercy will travel to the Bluegrass for a match on Sunday, August 24, the second consecutive season in which the Titans and Cats will square off—the previous meeting resulting in a 2-0 Kentucky victory in 2024. Kentucky will continue its homestand on Thursday, August 28, squaring off against Purdue Fort Wayne.

The first of two Big Ten schools will travel to the Commonwealth on Sunday, August 31, as the Cats will square off with Illinois for the third consecutive season. Fabiano is 2-0 against the Fighting Illini as a Wildcat, earning a 1-0 home victory in 2023 and a 2-1 triumph in Champaign a season ago. The Cats will earn a brief respite from B1G competition, facing Mercyhurst on Thursday, September 4.

Non-conference action at the Bell will close on a high note, with 2024 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 participant Ohio State traveling to Lexington for a blockbuster showdown on Sunday, September 7.

Southeastern Conference action will begin on Friday, September 12, with the Oklahoma Sooners traveling to Lexington for the first time as conference members. The two sides played to a 2-2 draw in Norman in their first conference meeting a season ago. The Cats’ first road trip will take place on Thursday, September 18, heading to Athens to face 2024 NCAA Tournament team Georgia, looking to claim its first win over the Bulldogs since 2018.

Following a short turnaround, Kentucky will begin its final multi-match home stand of the season by welcoming Missouri on Sunday, September 21 and Alabama on Friday, September 2026. The Cats are undefeated against both the Tigers and Crimson Tide under Fabiano’s guidance, drawing with Missouri in 2022, defeating both opponents at the Bell in 2023, and knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2024.

The final month of the regular season will commence with a trip to the Swamp on Thursday, October 2, with the Cats taking on Florida with Fabiano looking for his first win against the Gators after three draws in his first three seasons. Kentucky will return home that weekend to host Vanderbilt—another Sweet 16 participant from last season— on Sunday, October 5.

Kentucky will travel to Oxford on Friday, October 10 for a contest at Ole Miss before returning home to welcome South Carolina—a 2024 NCAA Tournament second round team—for the final home match of the regular season on Thursday, October 16.

The Cats will go on the road for their final two conference matches, traveling to Baton Rouge for a showdown with LSU on Sunday, October 19 and heading to College Station to face Texas A&M in the regular season finale on Sunday, October 26. Last season, Kentucky prevailed in a showdown of the eventual NCAA Tournament teams by defeated the Tigers in Lexington. The Cats’ match with the Aggies will be the second consecutive match in the series at Ellis Field, with the two teams playing to a 1-1 draw in 2023.

The Wildcats are returning 14 players from a 2024 squad that led the squad to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the program’s first appearance in a decade, highlighted by 2024 SEC All-Freshman team member Alexis Tylenda.

A full schedule that features tentative game times can be found below. TV designations are still to be determined and will be announced at a later date.

For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Facebook, Instagram, X and at UKathletics.com.