No. 18 Kentucky men's soccer gives up late goal in tie against Louisville

by: Zack Geoghegan22 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

No. 18 Kentucky men's soccer against Louisville - UK Athletics

It might be the middle of September, but the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is alive and well. In just the last week, we learned that Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey got into some sort of spat at Tay Kinney‘s house earlier in the summer. We also saw the Wildcats’ volleyball team take down Louisville in five sets on the road in what was a battle between two of the nation’s best programs.

So naturally, we could expect another thriller when the Kentucky men’s soccer team went on the road to Lynn Stadium Tuesday night to face the unranked Cardinals. Coming into the match ranked No. 18 in the nation, the Wildcats had yet to lose a game this season (4-0-2). That streak continued after the full 90 minutes were up, even if it didn’t end exactly how UK wanted.

Behind a late goal from the Cardinals, Kentucky drove back to Lexington with a 2-2 tie.

It finishes all square in Louisville.#WeAreUK | #GBED pic.twitter.com/PhQIuXA9Pe
— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) September 24, 2025

All the action came in the second half, too. Neither team scored a goal until Louisville’s Nicholas Parham got the Cardinals on the board in the 47th minute. But the Wildcats’ equalizer would come eventually as Alex Ruiz found the back of the net (thanks to an assist from Isaiah Chisolm) for the sixth time this season in the 64th minute. A few minutes later, good karma would come Chisolm’s way as he put UK in front for the first time all night in the 68th minute.

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But for the second straight season, Louisville would find a way to tie the game in the 89th minute. Ryan Quintos put his head on a corner kick that flew past Kentucky goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon to knot the score at 2-2 right before the final whistle. UK still leads the all-time series against UL 18-17-5, but this one got away from the good guys in the end.

Kentucky couldn’t pick up the Battle of the Bluegrass win this year, but the ‘Cats remain unbeaten on the season ahead of a three-game stretch against Sun Belt Conference opponents, which will be capped off with a road trip to face No. 4 Marshall on Oct. 10. Four days later, UK will host No. 3 Indiana at The Bell. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, Kentucky will first have to take care of Coastal Carolina this Sunday (7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+).