Kentucky women's soccer will face Louisville in first round of NCAA Tournament

by: Zack Geoghegan4 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Kentucky women's soccer - Ethan Rand, UK Athletics

Louisville Hate Week is going beyond the hardwood.

On Monday afternoon, the 64 teams that will participate in the 44th NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship were announced. Kentucky women’s soccer earned an at-large bid out of the Southeastern Conference in what will be the program’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Wildcats’ first round opponent? The Louisville Cardinals, of course, which earned a 6-seed and will host Kentucky in the opening round this weekend. This edition of the Battle of the Bluegrass will take place at Lynn Stadium on Saturday (2:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+) with the winner set to face the victor of California Baptist and 3-seed Kansas in the second round.

Kentucky leads the all-time series against Louisville on the pitch with a 12-4-1 mark, including a 4-1-1 record when the game is being hosted by the Cardinals. But this will be the first meeting between the in-state rivals since 2018. This will also be their first-ever meeting in the postseason.

TICKET: PUNCHED 🎟️

The Cats are dancing for the second year in a row and will make the short drive up I-64 to play Louisville in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament this weekend! pic.twitter.com/bPlMGBjmgP
— Kentucky Women's Soccer (@UKWomensSoccer) November 10, 2025

Kentucky, led by fourth-year head coach Troy Fabiano, finished the 2025 season with a 12-4-4 record, including a 5-2-3 mark in the SEC. The Wildcats started the season 5-0-0 before running into a slew of ranked opponents midway through the season. UK managed to pick up a handful of wins against teams that were ranked at the time, such as South Carolina (No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 20), Alabama (No. 25).

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That was good enough to earn the ‘Cats a 6-seed in the SEC Tournament. Kentucky took down 11-seed Florida in the first round last Sunday, but came up short in penalty kicks a couple of days later against 3-seed Georgia. Three Wildcat players ended up earning All-SEC honors for their efforts on the season: defender Grace Hoytink (Second Team), forward Tanner Strickland (Third Team), and defender Gabi Poretto (All-Freshman).

Nine SEC teams ended up making the NCAA Tournament — it’s a very deep league and Kentucky was able to find consistent success in it. UK has only made it to the Sweet 16 once in program history back in 2014. The path to getting there for the first time in over a decade starts with beating the Cardinals on Saturday.

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