Kentucky Men's Soccer Ties Indiana, Ends 4-Game Losing Streak

Even though the ‘Cats did not get a dub, they were able to stop some of the bleeding.

Kentucky Men’s Soccer (3-6-1) took on the Indiana University Hoosiers (3-3-4) on Tuesday night at The Bell in Lexington. After entering the season with high expectations, UK has struggled heavily over halfway through the regular season. Luckily, the Wildcats had a more positive outcome against the Hoosiers.

A 1-1 draw put a stop to Kentucky’s four-game losing streak.

“Overall net positive result for us tonight,” Assistant coach Ryan Zinkhan said postgame. “I thought in the first 15 minutes, we started off a little slow and when you do that against a team like Indiana — who is a very good team, a very well-coached team — they can punish you. I think circumstantially, there were things that were going against us in that first 15 minutes but credit to the guys, I felt they battled and they stayed together and they were resilient.”

Casper Mols is Back

Kentucky’s star goalie Casper Mols was back in goal on Tuesday night after missing the squad’s last couple of matches. Mols had a big night, ending the game with four saves that came in clutch for the ‘Cats.

Indiana came out strong in the first half as they scored within the first 12 minutes of the match. The early goal made it a 1-0 game in favor of IU. Early opponent scoring has been a trend for Kentucky so far this season. Most of these matches have ended in a loss for the Wildcats, but the momentum felt different on Tuesday.

After getting off multiple shots, the Wildcats’ energy was picking up towards the 26th minute. A shot by Kentucky senior Mason Visconti barely missed the net, but it was the prequel to the goal that newly added Wildcat, Eoin Martin, found in the 30′. Brennan Creek aided with the assist as Martin scored his first goal as a ‘Cat.

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAL KENTUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

30' | Eoin Martin scores his first goal of his Wildcat career with an assist by Brennan Creek.

📊 https://t.co/WoefIOyXxA
📺 https://t.co/AbJjpACwjx #WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/mKRfzbGXmQ

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) October 3, 2023

In the 30′ the match was still tied, but neither team was having any luck finding the back of the net as they inched toward the end of the first half. At the end of the opening 45 minutes, it remained an even game at 1-1.

To start the second half, the ‘Cats came out with more energy than they have in recent matches. Although they were able to get a shot off by the 48′, there was still no luck in the goal department. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers were not backing down as they had four second-half shot attempts heading into the 65’.

Both squads were trading shot for shot, but there was still no luck in finding a goal, and the score remained 1-1 at the end of regulation. Even though Kentucky did not get the bounce-back win that they have been looking for, the team did end their four-game losing streak after coming out of Tuesday with a draw. The streak was their longest since the 2013 season.

It’s a Tuesday night draw for the Cats!#WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/2dmzfUVq8X

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) October 4, 2023

Indiana is now 26-3-1 all-time against Kentucky. The Wildcats will be back on the pitch in Conway, South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 7th as they take on Coastal Carolina at 7:00 p.m. EST.