Wildcats Face No. 20 Western Michigan in Kickoff to 2025 Season
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 2025 soccer season is finally here!
The Kentucky Wildcats men’s soccer team kicks off the 2025 fall season with a tough road test in Kalamazoo, Mich. against the 20th-ranked Western Michigan Broncos on Thursday evening at the WMU Soccer Complex.
In 17 previous meetings, Kentucky boasts a 14-2-1 record against the Broncos, most recently earning a 1-0 win at home by way of a 74th-minute winner from Brock Lindow back in 2021. The Wildcats have won nine of their previous 10, as well as each of the last four, season-opening matches dating back to the 2015 season.
The Wildcats were voted fourth in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, with 67 total points, behind first-place Marshall, reigning conference champion West Virginia and UCF. Goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon was named the 2025 Sun Belt Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year following a record-breaking season with James Madison in 2024. Conlon, defender Josh Gordon and midfielder Agustin Lopez were all selected to the SBC Preseason All-Conference Team.
The new-look Wildcats welcomed 16 additions to the 2025 roster this fall, including Conlon, the reigning Sun Belt Goalkeeper of the Year. The Wildcat newcomers also include transfer forward Joaquin Brizuela from Virginia, midfielder Kevin Larsson from James Madison, defender Owen Mikoy from Campbell, goalkeeper Hayden Owens from Mary Hardin-Baylor, defender Luke Shreiner from Northwestern and defender Sinan Solmaz from CSU Bakersfield.
Head coach Johan Cedergren, who enters his 14th season at the helm in Lexington, brought in a loaded freshman class including forwards Danny Isaac and Gustav Renman, midfielder Marcus Andersen, defenders Dan McHale and Mekhi Haughton-Parris and goalkeeper Dillon Griner.
Kentucky’s 2025 season schedule features 16 total regular season matches, including six away from home and 10 at The Bell Soccer Complex. The Wildcats begin the new season on the road against the Broncos, but will soon return home for a five-match homestand at The Bell, beginning with a meeting against the Bellarmine Knights on Aug. 25 and concluding with the Sun Belt Conference opener against UCF on Sept. 19.
Western Michigan enters matchweek one of the 2025 season as the 20th-ranked team in the nation, according to the latest poll from the United Soccer Coaches Association. Last season, the Broncos reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but their run was ultimately cut short following a 2-1 loss to the No. 1 overall seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, who would go on to reach the Final Four.
The Broncos were voted third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll behind Drake and Bowling Green, who the Wildcats will face at home on Sept. 14. Sophomore defender Christian Shannon was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team, following a season in which he was selected to the MVC All-Freshman Team and led one of the top defenses in Division I in 2024.
Kickoff for the Wildcats 2025 season opener on Thursday against Western Michigan is set to for 5:30 p.m. EST.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on X, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
