Kentucky Men's Soccer Drops First Game of Season with Loss to Wisconsin

Kentucky Men’s Soccer traveled up north to Madison on Friday to take on the Wisconsin Badgers at the McClimon Track/Soccer Complex.

After moving up one spot in the national rankings at the start of the week, the freshly-ranked No. 2 Wildcats found themselves undefeated and sitting at 2-0 on the young season thus far. That was until they faced Wisconsin.

The ‘Cats started their usual squad on Friday night, but things got off to a rocky start very fast as the Badgers went up 1-nil in just the second minute. The Badgers came out of the gate aggressively and earned a quick lead over UK.

Lexington native and co-team captain Max Miller continues to be a bright spot for Kentucky in every area of the game. He helped keep Kentucky alive against the Badgers after the early goal. Miller placed one shot on goal while also having a score-saving block in the 24′.

24' | MAX. MILLER. with a save in the net to deny a Badger goal.

📊 https://t.co/VOoKSKk91h
📺 https://t.co/kK7nPWwiyw #WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/FJAZWCGW2K

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) September 2, 2023

Wisconsin kept their momentum up in the first half as they had seven shot attempts compared to the Wildcats’ one. Kentucky’s star sophomore goalie, Casper Mols, was another bright spot for the ‘Cats as he had three of his four saves in the first 45 minutes of action. However, the one shot he let by not even 120 seconds into the match proved costly. It was the first goal he’s allowed all season.

An uneventful second half

Other than Miller and Mols’ saves in the first half, it was rather uneventful for both teams after the Badger’s immediate goal at the very start.

At the start of the second half, the ‘Cats had to pick up their momentum or it was going to be another long 45 minutes. Unfortunately, Kentucky could not seem to get the energy boost they needed and made multiple substitutions to try and change up the rhythm. But nothing would stick. Neither team was able to make any headway against the other.

Both teams tallied double-digits in fouls with UK having 17 compared to the Badger’s 12 in the game. Wisconsin had a total of 13 shots compared to Kentucky’s four for the entire match.

In the end, neither team had any luck in the second half of scoring. But thanks to the early goal, unranked Wisconsin pulled off the upset over the No. 2 team in the nation. It was Kentucky’s first loss since the 2021 season.

Final from Wisconsin.#WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/CJxon9FMlT

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) September 2, 2023

Kentucky will take the pitch next on Tuesday, September 5 against the in-state rival Louisville Cardinals. First kick is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST in Louisville at the Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.