‘Everyone knows what it’s about.’ Kentucky’s win over Louisville goes beyond rivalry.
Johan Cedergren had a complete day Tuesday.
Despite his claims that he is “absolutely not much of a handyman,” Cedergren spent his Tuesday morning fixing a water heater at his home.
By nighttime, he helped his daughter, Abigail, find food to feed herself and Cedergren’s son, Gavin.
“I was able to feed the kids and fix the water heater, so it’s been a complete day for me,” Cedergren said late Tuesday night.
In between those tasks, Cedergren oversaw a statement victory from his highly ranked UK men’s soccer team over its in-state rival.
No. 5 Kentucky (4-0-0) came from 1-0 down to defeat No. 10 Louisville (3-1-0) on Tuesday night, 3-2, in front of a boisterous crowd of more than 2,000 fans visible through blue smoke at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington.
The Wildcats scored three times in succession after allowing an own goal off the head of senior forward Eythor Bjorgolfsson from a Louisville corner kick in the 11th minute.
Just minutes later, Bjorgolfsson scored on an unmarked header from a cross by sophomore midfielder Casper Grening to tie the match in the 14th minute. Senior midfielder Nick Gutmann finished a one-on-one chance past Louisville goalkeeper Gavin Krenecki in the 47th minute to give the Cats the lead. Grening did the same in the 74th minute to make it 3-1.
“As a striker, as a number nine, that’s your bread and butter,” the 6-foot-3 Bjorgolfsson said of his goal. “Growing up, headers was what I was good at, and you just can’t do anything else (but score) when your attacking teammates just give you the ball on a silver plate. It’s just back of the net, nothing more to say really.”
All three Wildcats who scored Tuesday night now have two goals each for the season.
After a curling left-footed shot by Louisville’s Damien Barker John tightened the scoreline to 3-2 in the 80th minute, UK held firm to secure a victory crucial to both commonwealth bragging rights and the Wildcats’ future NCAA Tournament aspirations.
“It was a great win. It wasn’t an ideal start, but we fought as a team, as a family, and we got the victory,” junior midfielder Enzo Mauriz said. “Last 10 minutes, it’s just about fighting.”
Kentucky had to see out the final 37 minutes of the match with three veteran defenders — Luis Grassow, Lucca Rodrigues and Robert Screen — all carrying yellow cards.
“I think it was really crucial, not just in terms of the rivalry, but in terms of RPI,” added Bjorgolfsson about the win. “Just keeping a top-five spot for postseason and just staying on a good roll as we enter conference play. Tonight was really crucial.”
Bjorgolfsson referencing NCAA RPI in the moments following a victory over a bitter rival — and the celebratory scenes that followed between Kentucky players and a sizable UK student section — speaks to the greater goals on the minds of these Wildcats players.
Fine margins played a big role in the 2021 postseason for Kentucky. Because the Cats were the No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, UK had to travel on the road for its Sweet 16 match against No. 8 seed Clemson, the eventual national champions.
Clemson beat UK, 2-1, with the winning goal scored in the 89th minute.
If UK had been ranked just one seed higher, that Sweet 16 meeting would have been at The Bell in Lexington.
It’s evident that Kentucky is hoping early-season performances like Tuesday night’s will help in potential seeding situations down the road.
“We’re only four games in, so there’s lots of games to play still, but I think for us as a staff and having as old of a team as we have, everyone knows what it’s about,” Cedergren, who described the win over Louisville as an A performance from his team, said postmatch.
But looking at the big picture shouldn’t eliminate the immediate importance of another UK win over U of L.
Cedergren’s Wildcats have now won three straight matches over the Cardinals, and Kentucky holds a 15-8-5 (W-L-D) all-time record against Louisville in men’s soccer matches.
UK has also won four consecutive home matches over Louisville.
UK women’s soccer off to hot start
Under first-year head coach Troy Fabiano, the Kentucky women’s soccer program is off to its best start since 2015.
The Wildcats are 5-1-0 (W-L-D) on the season with a pair of home, non-conference wins against Power Five opponents (Purdue and Iowa State, both of which have Top 25 wins on their résumés this season).
Prior to the Purdue win on Aug. 25, UK hadn’t beaten a Power Five opponent in non-conference play since September 2016. Under Fabiano, the Cats already have two.
“We know the SEC is going to be a little bit different, because it’s so early on in the season some of the scores just don’t make any sense, but the biggest thing is to build confidence,” Fabiano said after Sunday’s 4-0 win over Iowa State. “We’ve always taken steps forward, which has been a positive. . . . I think we’re moving forward in the right direction.”
After six games this season, UK has scored 17 goals, allowed only three goals, and has 50 combined shots on goal compared to 16 shots on goal by opponents.
Kentucky has also been one of the most versatile scoring teams in the nation, as 12 different players have scored a goal this season. That is the second-highest total in Division I women’s soccer.
UK hosts Wright State at 7 p.m. Thursday.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 7:35 AM.
