Wildcats Return Home, Host No. 23 Old Dominion
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats (0-5-3, 0-1-1 SBC) return to The Bell on Friday night to take on the No. 23 Old Dominion Monarchs (8-2-0, 0-2-0 SBC) in their first match back at home following a two-game road trip.
Kentucky faces Old Dominion for the 15th time in program history on Friday night, boasting a 9-2-3 all-time record. The Wildcats last faced the Monarchs in the final regular season match of the 2025 season, resulting in a 1-1 draw, officially clinching an SBC Regular Season title for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats earned their first conference point of the 2026 season on Sunday in Orlando with a 1-1 draw against the UCF Knights. After trailing at the break, less than a minute into the second half of play, the Wildcats equalized after midfielder Ari Saliu’s shot across the face of goal struck the left post and the rebound fell to defender Gustav Renman, who slotted home the second attempt to level the score at 1-1. That goal represented Renman’s first career goal in his second season with the Wildcats and Kentucky’s fastest second half score of the 2026 season thus far.
Old Dominion enters match day 10 of the season ranked 23rd in this week’s United Soccer Coaches’ Poll, coming off a 3-1 loss to Georgia Southern last week, dropping the Monarchs overall record to 8-2-0 and 0-2 in SBC play.
The Monarchs are led on the offensive end by forward Lewis Rourke, who has scored six goals through the first eight games of the season, which ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference. On the defensive end, goalkeeper Alexander Aguilar currently ranks second in the SBC with 31 saves and third in goals against average at 1.30.
Kickoff for Kentucky vs. Old Dominion is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET., streaming on ESPN+.
Admission to all 2026 Kentucky Soccer regular season home matches is free to the public. For the latest on Kentucky Men’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on X, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
