— LEXINGTON, KY: By Nate Unthank

The stage was set on a beautiful Saturday night at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex as the No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats played host to in-conference foe, James Madison. The Wildcats came out on top by a score of 2-0, with both goals coming from senior forward Isaiah Chisolm. 

Head coach Johan Cedergren, in his 14th season leading the Wildcats, is looking for his team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022. Cedergren was joyous after the game following his team’s sixth victory of the season.

“First thing I want to say is thanks to Big Blue Nation. It was a good crowd tonight. It is a special atmosphere, and everyone’s really happy to be playing here.”

The building blocks to achieving the goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament start with winning conference games on your home turf. The Wildcats entered the game looking to avenge their 2-0 road loss to the Dukes a year ago.

“When you get to postseason play, conference tournament, and hopefully the NCAA Tournament, you have to find a way to win in these tight games,” Cedergren said. “We have Isaiah, Alex, Kevin, Max, Josh, Joaquin — we have so many game-winners that over 90 minutes, I think the other team is really going to struggle to take them away.”

Game-winners they were. In the 54th minute, freshman midfielder Marcus Andersen played an over-the-top pass that set up a one-on-one opportunity for Chisolm to net the Wildcats’ first goal of the night. The scoring did not stop there for Kentucky. In the 79th minute, a penalty was drawn and converted by Chisolm, who fired a rocket straight at the keeper. Those two goals were all Kentucky needed as the defensive performance was stout.

James Madison entered the game with offensive concerns, and that was evident early on with no shots on goal in the first 45 minutes. The Dukes have scored only four goals this season through nine games.

Wildcat goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon, a transfer from James Madison, was named the preseason Sun Belt Goalkeeper of the Year. He has anchored this Kentucky defense, allowing just six goals so far and earning five clean sheets.

Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart was pleased with how Cedergren’s group performed.

“I thought some guys answered the bell and they did a really nice job of securing the win and another three points for us in conference play.”

This Friday, October 10, Kentucky (6-0-3, 3-0-0) will head east on Interstate 64 to Huntington, West Virginia, for a matchup with Sun Belt power Marshall (4-1-4, 2-1-0).