Kentucky men's and women's soccer off to perfect combined 5-0-0 start in 2025

One day, the Kentucky Wildcats will lose, more likely than not. Everyone does, for every sport, always. The men’s and women’s soccer teams, though, are making it pretty darn challenging for opponents to end their streaks to get things rolling in 2025. Maybe we should never say never?

In five total soccer contests, both teams have combined to start 5-0-0 — 4-0-0 for the women and 1-0-0 for the men.

You already know how Johan Cedergren’s group on the men’s side got things started, earning a ranked upset win on the road against No. 20 Western Michigan to open the season. Picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt with no votes in the preseason national poll, the Wildcats traveled to Kalamazoo and pulled off the 2-1 victory, led by graduate student Alex Ruiz scoring both goals for a brace in his debut.

“A great performance from our guys, a gritty performance. Western Michigan is a really tough team to play,” associate head coach Ryan Zinkhan said of the win. “To come here — I don’t think they’ve lost at home in a while, so it’s not an easy place to play. They made it really difficult for us.”

“I’m very happy for the guys,” Ruiz added. “We just need to keep winning.”

Alex Ruiz, in his Kentucky debut, has his second goal of the night⚽️😼

📺 https://t.co/rqZc4LXqcj
📊 https://t.co/vDZ0afXYfp#WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/crxcp55qrc

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) August 21, 2025

The Wildcats (1-0-0) will return to Lexington and The Bell Soccer Complex for the start of a five-match homestand against the Bellarmine Knights (0-0-1) on Monday, starting at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN+. From there, they’ll go on to face UCLA on Sept. 1, Detroit Mercy on Sept. 9, Bowling Green (Sept. 14) and UCF on Sept. 19 for the Sun Belt opener.

That’s a small sample size, though. The women’s team, led by head coach Troy Fabiano, is off to a phenomenal 4-0-0 start following wins over Jackson State (4-0), West Georgia (7-0), East Tennessee State (2-1) and Detroit Mercy (2-0). The latest performance came Sunday with goals from Catherine Rapp and Anna Sikorski putting a bow on the second week of the season — both perfect. It’s a record-setting start for the Wildcats, outscoring their opponents 15-1 to tie the 2005 squad for most goals through four matches in program history.

Kentucky is now perfect in its last 18 home matches and 21 regular-season non-conference contests overall.

What’s next for Fabiano’s group? Five more home battles at The Bell, starting with Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 PM ET on SEC Network+. From there, the Cats will take on Illinois on Aug. 31, Mercyhurst on Sept. 4, Ohio State on Sept. 7 and Oklahoma on Sept. 12 to wrap up the nine-match homestand.

Couldn’t ask for a better start for either team. Can they keep it up?