Kentucky wins Sun Belt soccer title but will open NCAA play without its top scorer

The undefeated University of Kentucky men’s soccer team won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in its first season in the league on Sunday.

The Wildcats are now poised to take aim at another championship they’ve never won previously.

Kentucky’s 2-0 victory over James Madison in front of 2,389 frosty fans at UK’s Bell Soccer Complex on Sunday earned Coach Johan Cedergren’s team the top seed in the 48-team NCAA Tournament beginning this week.

UK, which moved from Conference USA to the Sun Belt after last season, earned the Sun Belt’s automatic NCAA berth with Sunday’s win and, as the only remaining undefeated team in Division I, the Cats were awarded a first-round bye into the round of 32. That means UK stands five victories away from its first national championship in men’s soccer.

The Wildcats also won the Sun Belt regular-season championship.

“We’re super happy, obviously, to win both conference titles,” assistant coach Josh Oldroyd said afterward. “Good performance. We scored early on and we scored late. The guys are playing the full 90 minutes which is important going into the national tournament.”

UK brought its fans quick comfort Sunday with a rebound goal from team captain Luis Grassow just 4:20 into the match. The sweet relief of a second, match-clinching goal, took much longer to achieve. Enzo Mauriz played a cross from Danny Evans into the net at the 83:24 mark in the second half, securing the conference title for Kentucky.

“From a program standpoint, the biggest thing for us is, just, full credit to the BBN because every single game in the conference tournament got better and better with attendance and numbers,” Oldroyd said. “To have almost 2,500 people here today was just really impressive in these cold temperatures.”

As the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky will have the opportunity to play three more matches at home before the event moves to Cary, N.C., for the national semifinals and finals.

Sunday’s match was not without drama — and a possibly major complication — for the Wildcats.

Kentucky’s leading goal scorer this season, senior Eythor Bjorgolfsson, received a red card in the 72nd minute. Not only was Bjorgolfsson sent off Sunday, leaving the Wildcats to play the remainder of the match a man down, but he’ll have to sit out Kentucky’s first game in the NCAA Tournament.

During a breakaway by Bjorgolfsson, James Madison defender Tyler Clegg grabbed him from behind and took him to the ground. Bjorgolfsson’s response was deemed “violent conduct,” and he was issued the red card. Clegg received a yellow.

“Credit to JMU. Really good team. They caused us a lot of problems. They’re a good side,” Oldroyd said. “Credit to our boys as well to persevere and carry on through the red card and play with 10 men for 15-20 minutes.”

The second-ranked Wildcats (14-0-5) enter the NCAA Tournament as the only undefeated team in Division I, having completed the first unbeaten regular season in program history. After a loss Thursday night by current No. 1 Washington, Kentucky is poised to move up to No. 1 when the new United Soccer Coaches Top 25 is revealed this week.

Kentucky’s postseason resume includes non-conference wins over Illinois-Chicago, Seattle, Belmont, Louisville and Indiana and league victories over Lipscomb, Georgia State, James Madison, Georgia Southern, Old Dominion and South Carolina. UK also defeated South Carolina, West Virginia and James Madison in the Sun Belt tourney.

UK’s ties took place against non-conference foes Tulsa and Dayton and versus Sun Belt rivals Marshall, West Virginia and Coastal Carolina.

Against teams currently ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, UK tied No. 9 Marshall and beat No. 12 Lipscomb.

Kentucky, which has never advanced deeper than the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, learned its path through this year’s field of 48 during the Selection Show draw on Monday afternoon.

The Wildcats’ first match will take place Sunday at the Bell Soccer Complex against the winner of Thursday’s game between South Florida (8-6-4) and Hofstra (14-3-3).

Kentucky’s 12-team corner of the bracket also includes No. 8 seed Oregon State, No. 9 seed Lipscomb and No. 16 seed Akron, all of whom also received first-round byes. Their opponents will come from first-round matchups that include Portland-UC Riverside, Louisville-Western Michigan and Pittsburgh-Cleveland State, respectively.

The top four overall seeds in the field are No. 1 Kentucky, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Syracuse and No. 4 Virginia.

This story was originally published November 13, 2022 at 7:36 PM.