UK men’s soccer reached historic heights this season. It ended again in postseason pain.

Given this moment — and given this situation — Johan Cedergren wants to be anywhere else, doing anything else.

This isn’t dismissive of the reality Cedergren finds himself in, but rather a reflection of the intense disappointment and pain the Kentucky men’s soccer coach is currently experiencing.

Cedergren and the Wildcats reached historic heights during the 2022 season: UK won both the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament championships in its first season in the league, and finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in school history.

Kentucky also secured the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time, thanks to that hardware already won and by virtue of being the last undefeated team in Division I men’s soccer.

But these are also the same accomplishments that add weight to the crushing despair Kentucky felt Sunday night.

For the third straight season, UK was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

This time, the postseason defeat came at home at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington. Like last season, it came after the Wildcats allowed a goal with less than four minutes left in regulation.

Pittsburgh — an unseeded team that had been reduced to 10 men after a straight red card with less than 12 minutes to go in the match — scored with 3:15 left, and survived a late barrage of Kentucky pressure to advance to the Elite Eight and a matchup with Portland.

“I was texting one of the parents on my daughters’ soccer team and (I said), ‘This is the best job, but it’s also the worst job,’” Cedergren said minutes after the 2-1 loss to Pitt. “Right now, I’d take any job over this. I’d go back to banking. Because there’s nothing that can deal with the pain that we’re going through as a group right now.”

Kentucky (which finishes the season 15-1-5 overall) had a clear pathway to reaching the NCAA Tournament Final Four (known as the College Cup) for the first time, and the Elite Eight for only the second time (2018) in school history.

The Cats were the only seeded team left in their quadrant of the bracket, after the other three all lost in the second round. As the No. 1 overall seed, UK was set to host matches at the Bell Complex through the Elite Eight.

Entering Sunday night’s matchup with Pitt (11-4-5), UK boasted one of the best scoring offenses in the country, both from a goals per game (2.6) and shots on goal per game (7.35) standpoint.

UK even had a 1-0 lead after 52 minutes Sunday, after star sophomore midfielder Casper Grening shook his defender and dispatched a cross at the back post from senior midfielder Nick Gutmann (who collected his NCAA-leading 19th assist of the season).

Then it all fell apart.

Pitt was level less than two minutes later when a loose ball following a corner kick was volleyed in by leading-scorer Valentin Noel, after UK freshman goalkeeper Casper Mols and UK fifth-year defender Robert Screen collided while both moving toward the ball.

“I think we were pretty pissed off,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said of his team’s response to going behind a goal. “The reaction from us was that we were pissed off and we were going to set it straight.”

While Kentucky continued to enjoy possession in the Pittsburgh final third — as it had all night — clear-cut scoring chances were harder to come by. UK had just two shots on goal across the entire 90 minutes.

Despite Kentucky’s improved offensive versatility this season, the Cats still struggled when it mattered most to find the final pass against a resolute Pitt defense.

“We got some really good chances, we just weren’t able to then deliver that final pass or maybe take a touch and then shoot, or we don’t have time to just take a first-time shot instead,” Cedergen said about common themes from the last three UK seasons, which have now all ended in Sweet 16 losses.

“It happens in games sometimes, and I would be even more disappointed if we didn’t play well or if we played timid or if we didn’t play up to our potential. ... I think systematically I’m really proud of how we played this year.”

A significant shift in UK’s favor seemed to arrive with 11:43 to go in the match, but it came at a price.

A heavy open-field collision between Pitt defender Henrique Gallina and Kentucky sophomore midfielder Martin Soereide resulted in a straight red card to Gallina, while Soereide remained down injured for several minutes before being stretchered off the field.

Postmatch, Cedergren said Soereide was in the hospital recovering, and that Soereide will be fine long-term.

Kentucky appeared in control of the match with the man advantage and pushed for a winning goal in regulation, but the Panthers sprung a counterattack that was finished in stunning style.

A Pittsburgh long ball on a free kick found forward Josh Luchini in behind three Kentucky defenders. His first touch backward set up Bertin Jacquesson, also up top for the Panthers.

Three touches of the right boot later, Jacquesson had deposited a stunning strike from more than 20 yards out past Mols and into the top left corner of the net.

“I saw there was a guy in front of me, so I took a touch on the side and the space was open. ... I always fake so the ball goes across my body, and then it just happened,” Jacquesson said of his winning goal. “One touch, two touch, boom.”

Jacquesson kept a cool demeanor after his winning strike, hardly cracking a smile in the ensuing celebration while pointing to his temples.

What was going through his mind?

“I wasn’t surprised. I was just like, ‘Yeah. Not bad,’” the junior forward from France said. “I can never just score an easy goal. It’s always the more difficult ones you don’t expect. So I wasn’t surprised, I was just happy for the team.”

Does it make it any easier — or is it more difficult — when a match of this magnitude is decided by such a magical on-field moment?

“Kind of worse,” said Kentucky fifth-year midfielder Clay Holstad. “We’re pressing forward, they’re dying chasing the game and then we let up for five seconds and it goes in.”

“That goal is going to be replayed in my mind for the next couple of months,” Cedergren added.

The dramatic manner in which Kentucky lost resembled last season’s final game: UK tied its Sweet 16 match with eventual national champion Clemson with five minutes to go, only to allow the game-winning goal with 68 seconds left.

Somewhere amid this year’s sadness, there’s the knowledge of not just the honors earned by the Wildcats this season, but also the increased profile attained for men’s soccer at Kentucky.

Cedergren said that he was even recognized as the men’s soccer head coach during a recent trip to UPS.

“I feel like we definitely put the program on the map,” Cedergren said. “There’s lots of successful programs and sports here at the University of Kentucky, but men’s soccer is definitely one of them.”

Kentucky men’s soccer 2022 season notes

Final record: (15-1-5 overall, W-L-D).

Sun Belt Conference record: (5-0-3 in regular season, 3-0-0 in Sun Belt Conference Tournament).

Honors: Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship, Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship, undefeated regular season, No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament, fifth NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in program history.

Postseason results: 4-0 win over South Florida in round of 32, 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh in Sweet 16.

Leading scorers: Casper Grening (11 goals) was Kentucky’s leading goal scorer in the 2022 season. Nick Gutmann (19 assists) was UK’s leading setup man. Gutmann currently leads the country in total assists and assists per game.