There is something sacrosanct about home fields in college sports. Allen Fieldhouse, The Big House, Neyland, and The Pit all have a single name familiarity that on its own indicates what they bring to the athletes that call there home. Xavier’s own Cintas Center, if not bestowed with a great name, brings a fearsome home court advantage to the Musketeers. I mention all of this because, for the last three weeks, Xavier soccer has had no home and recently that meant travelling to Kentucky for a “home” Crosstown Derby against UC.
The game started much how you’d expect one of the preeminent rivalries in college sports to start if one team was suddenly uprooted and forced to play their home games across a river from their home state.