Louisville Soccer vs. Kentucky 9-6-2023 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

#7 Cardinals Roll Past Kentucky, 4-2

Mark BlankenbakerSeptember 6, 2023

The seventh-ranked University of Louisville men’s soccer team made it four straight victories with a 4-2 win over No. 19 Kentucky on Tuesday night at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.

Gage Guerra, the latest ACC Offensive Player of the Week, found the back of the net once in each half to lead the Cardinals. Konstantinos Georgallides and Parker Forbes also struck for the Cards, who dominated the shot column to the tune of 26-9 on the night.

For the second consecutive match, Louisville (4-0-0) was on the board in the first 10 minutes. David Boccuzzo played a long cross across the face of goal that settled on the foot of Georgallides who fired home a right-footed shot for the first tally just over eight minutes into the contest.

The goal was the second of the season for Georgallides, who has recorded at least one point in all four matches this season.

The Cardinals continued to dominate play during the first half and found a second goal in the 36^th minute. Damien Barker John swung in a left-footed cross from the left flank that was headed into the right side of the net by Guerra.

Louisville held a 10-0 advantage in shots until the closing minutes of the first half when Kentucky (2-2-0) finally got its first shot of the night off. Alex Svetanoff was in the right place though, getting a hand on the shot to help send the Cardinals to the locker room at halftime up a pair of goals.

Guerra was in position to score his second header of the night in the 57^th minute, but his attempt drilled the crossbar. However, the rebound fell right back to him and the junior tucked it away to extend the lead to three.

Kentucky scored off a rebound of its own in the 62^nd minute, snapping Louisville’s scoreless streak to start the season. The Cardinals held the opposition off the scoreboard for the first 331 minutes this fall.

The Cardinals stretched the margin back out to three in the 74^th minute, again cashing in on a rebound. Mason Tatafu’s header was stopped by the goalkeeper but Forbes pounced on the loose ball and put it home for his first collegiate tally.

The Wildcats netted a second goal with just over 10 minutes to play, but the Cardinals rode the lead to the finish line for the victory.

The 26 shot attempts on Tuesday were the most for the Cardinals since tallying 29 against Western Illinois in September of 2021.

Louisville opens conference play Friday night on the road against reigning national champion Syracuse. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on the ACC Network.