Kentucky Men's Soccer Suffers Season Ending Loss to Pittsburgh

#1 seed Kentucky Men’s Soccer (15-1-5) fell to Pittsburgh (11-4-5) in the 2022 Tournament Sweet 16 on Sunday night at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington, KY.

The Wildcats were the only remaining undefeated team left in the country and the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed before falling to the Panthers.

First half woes

In the sub-40-degree and rainy weather, each squad started out slow.

Both the ‘Cats and Panthers had various corner attempts and close calls early on but came up short.

🚨CLOSE CALL🚨
Cats find a gap but are unable to execute the shot and find the back of the net with about 12 minutes to go in the half @ZGeogheganKSR pic.twitter.com/rLFkyGdbTt
— katelyn perkins (@KPerkinsKSR) November 27, 2022

Pittsburgh played more aggressively than Kentucky in the first half. That mentality was expected from the side looking for an upset.

There were opportunities for both teams to find the back of the net through the first 45 minutes but no goals were made going into the halftime break.

The search for a second-half goal

Out of the locker room, there was a newfound energy from the ‘Cats at the start of the second half.

Momentum felt like it had shifted and with it came more shots on goal for Kentucky.

In the 52′ sophomore midfielder Casper Grening drove down the field and found the first score of the night for the ‘Cats.

Grening’s goal gave Kentucky a 1-0 advantage in the match and put him in the lead for the most goals scored on the team.

Although UK had gained momentum, Pittsburgh was not letting it last long.

After only two minutes following Grening’s goal, Pitt found the back of the net themselves in the 54th minute, tying the match at 1-1.

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You could feel the pressure on both sides of the pitch as each team searched for the go-ahead goal.

In the 79th minute Kentucky sophomore midfielder Martin Soereide was injured by a Pitt player which resulted in a red card on the Panthers. Following the injury, Soereide was carted off the field and Pitt found themselves down to 10 men.

🚨RED CARD🚨
Red card is assessed to Pitt player after a hard hit on the Cats’ Martin
Soereide. Soereide is being carted off the field with 11 minutes to go @ZGeogheganKSR @MrsTylerKSR pic.twitter.com/nIG3fHynq3
— katelyn perkins (@KPerkinsKSR) November 28, 2022

The match was quiet with failed corner attempts and shots from both teams until the 87′.

Kentucky was caught off guard and Pittsburgh took advantage to find the back of the net and take a critical 2-1 lead late in the match.

Tough ending for the ‘Cats

Kentucky had only three minutes remaining to seek out a tying goal but they could not find the back of the net before the clock ran out.

🚨FINAL🚨
A somber ending as #1 seed @UKMensSoccer falls to Pittsburgh 2-1 in the sweet sixteen. Pitt will move on to the Elite 8 to face Portland @ZGeogheganKSR @MrsTylerKSR pic.twitter.com/f6eXnKEhDN
— katelyn perkins (@KPerkinsKSR) November 28, 2022

This is the third straight season the ‘Cats have been knocked out of the Sweet 16. Kentucky has made it to the Sweet 16 four times over the last five years but has only made it to the Elite 8 once.

Pittsburgh will go on to play Portland in the Elite 8 next weekend.