Kentucky men’s soccer is an NCAA power. But are the Cats built for postseason success?

Kentucky’s men’s soccer program can, without question, be considered a national power.

Johan Cedergren has led the Wildcats to nine NCAA Tournament appearances since becoming UK’s head coach prior to the 2012 season, and the best seasons in school history have come under Cedergren’s leadership.

He was the head coach for Kentucky’s best-ever postseason showing, when the Cats reached the Elite Eight in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Cedergren also oversaw last year’s historic season, as the Wildcats went undefeated during the regular season and Sun Belt Conference Tournament to earn the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

But the way the 2022 season ended — with a crushing, one-goal loss in the Sweet 16 for the third straight season — means UK has plenty of unfinished business on the biggest stage in men’s college soccer.

“Every year you’re trying to evolve, you’re trying to find a way to do things even better. I think last year was the best we’ve ever been on the ball,” Cedergren told the Herald-Leader this month during a wide-ranging interview in his office.

“I do think that last year showed that even though maybe you’re not the biggest and the most physical, you can still be unbelievably good if you have a team that has a very good idea of what we want to do on the ball, and then what kind of (formation) we have when we have the ball.”

The question facing the 2023 version of UK is whether or not a drastically new-look team can find a way to create the kind of significant postseason success the Wildcats crave.

Three of Kentucky’s top five goal scorers from a season ago — Eythor Bjorgolfsson (10 goals), Enzo Mauriz (seven) and Nick Gutmann (five) — are no longer with the Wildcats. The absence of Gutmann in particular leaves a void: He led the NCAA last season with 19 assists.

Stout defenders like Luis Grassow, Lucca Rodrigues and Robert Screen have also all moved on from Lexington.

In total, seven players from the 2022 Kentucky team left to pursue a pro career.

Kentucky’s 2023 squad features less than a dozen returners alongside 14 newcomers, although several of these players are major additions from the NCAA transfer portal.

This group includes senior forward Aboubacar Camara (Louisville), junior forward Logan Dorsey (Gonzaga), graduate student midfielder Finn Ballard McBride (UC Santa Barbara) and junior defender Eoin Martin (Lafayette).

That’s a lot of change for the Wildcats, who start the season ranked No. 3 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.

Newcomers, returners impress in UK’s first win

Thursday’s night’s season-opening match for Kentucky showed plenty of promise for what the Wildcats can become, if everything falls into place.

A 3-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington featured strong performances from plenty of the newcomers.

A trio of transfers — Camara (a 31st-minute penalty kick), Dorsey (a 45th-minute breakaway) and Ballard McBride (a 61st-minute breakaway) — took care of the scoring, before Kentucky played the final 23 minutes with a man advantage.

But several returners also provided reminders of their value.

Sophomore goalkeeper Casper Mols — an All-American last season — began his second season in Lexington with a shutout, the eighth of his college career.

Sophomore defender Max Miller, who attended Bryan Station High School in Lexington, tallied a pair of assists.

Fifth-year midfielder Brennan Creek, who appeared in all 21 matches last season, was one of two field players to log a full 90 minutes for the Cats (the other was freshman midfielder Marqes Muir, a former youth player for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur).

“We were much more intentional within the offseason, working with the guys that were here in regards to improving their leadership,” Cedergren said.

Wildcats picked to repeat as Sun Belt champions

Kentucky’s place in the Sun Belt soccer hierarchy already seems secure.

UK only joined the Sun Belt for men’s soccer prior to the 2022 season, but the Wildcats have already made a lasting mark.

UK’s undefeated regular season record in 2022 included a 5-0-3 (W-L-D) mark in Sun Belt games, and the Wildcats captured the conference’s regular season and tournament championships.

Kentucky was voted to win the Sun Belt again in 2023 in the league’s preseason coaches poll, with junior midfielder Casper Grening named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Mols voted the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Living up to these lofty expectations, especially with such roster turnover, won’t be easy.

Kentucky’s non-conference schedule is highlighted by a trip to Louisville for an annual rivalry match, as well as a home game against Indiana.

The Hoosiers, ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll, lost in a lengthy penalty shootout to Syracuse in last season’s NCAA Tournament championship game.

Last October, Kentucky went to Indiana and won decisively, 3-0.

UK will also face non-conference road tests at Wisconsin and Ohio State.

“I think we’re always going to have one of the more tough schedules in the country,” Cedergren said. “Because that’s how we prepare for postseason. And also, the guys that we have recruited to come here, they have come here because they want to play against the best teams.”

While UK’s season debut was dazzling, it would be unrealistic to expect the Wildcats to reach the regular season heights of last year. Going undefeated until the NCAA Tournament is a rare feat for a reason.

Cedergren said that earlier in his coaching career, he would prioritize game results over game performances from his teams.

That’s no longer the case.

“I think as you do this longer and longer, it’s more about the performance,” Cedergren said.

An apt example can be found in Cedergren’s office, where several framed posters highlight some of his most memorable UK teams.

There’s one dedicated to the 2018 squad, as well as one for last year’s team.

But there’s none for the 2019 team, which followed 2018’s Elite Eight showing with a second-round NCAA Tournament exit.

“That’s the challenge for the 2023 team: OK, last year was really fun and really cool to do a lot of things. We can do that again,” Cedergren said. “We have more than the talent needed to do that again, if we have the right attitude.”

To drive this point home to his players during the preseason, Cedergren cited a quote from legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson.

“The fear is not losing,” Jackson told his Chicago Bulls team during the 1998 NBA playoffs. “The fear is not producing the effort needed.”

2023 Kentucky men’s soccer schedule

Home games in all capital letters.

Aug. 24: FLORIDA GULF COAST, 3-0 win

Aug. 28: EAST TENNESSEE STATE, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 1: At Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Sept. 5: At Louisville, 8 p.m.

Sept. 8: LIPSCOMB, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 15: SOUTH CAROLINA, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 19: At Ohio State, 7 p.m.

Sept. 24: At Old Dominion, 6 p.m.

Sept. 29: CENTRAL FLORIDA, 5 p.m.

Oct. 3: INDIANA, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7: At Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13: JAMES MADISON, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18: GEORGIA STATE, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22: At Marshall, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 27: WEST VIRGINIA, 7 p.m.

Oct. 31: At Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.