In the nearly three weeks since budget cuts forced the men’s soccer team to disband, the weather around Bowling Green has been cloudy, cold, wet and in times, icy.

Like most, the team was looking for a bright spot, even if it were just for a day.

So when the clouds opened up and the temperatures warmed on Saturday, the signs of spring were in full swing, and it provided nothing but irony.

“The timing (of the cuts) was atrocious,” coach David Holmes said. “It’s disrupted (the players’) young lives. But you know what? They’re young, they’re strong, and this brought them together even more. They’ll survive.”

Down there on Creason Street, in the shadows of Western’s campus and a community that has provided support and protested, the team enjoyed one last game.

“It was a perfect day for soccer,” sophomore goalkeeper Pat Rickman said.

When Western concluded its 2-0 victory over Kentucky, Rickman got the players’ attention near the bench and reminded them to stay in touch.

In the stands for much of the afternoon, the crowd would break into impromptu chants of “we want soc-cer. we want soc-cer!”

For one more day, they had it.

Western scored its first goal of the match after freshman defender Ian Smith scored on a penalty kick.

Later that half, sophomore Will Thompson converted on another free kick, scoring from just outside.

But for as well as the Toppers played, it seemed the more memorable parts came before and after the game.

Before the game, juniors Dustin Downey, Sam Drummond and Benard Airo were honored.

Downey provided optimistic support following the cuts, and continued to keep a positive attitude after the game.

“With all that’s going on, maybe something will turn around for us, turn in our favor,” Downey said. “We’ve still got heart, we’ve still got a good fan base, so maybe they’ll rethink their decision.”

Downey said he will definitely play soccer somewhere next year.

Sophomore Tim Muessig played for Western on Saturday, but come next fall, he said he will be playing for Kentucky.

“It was a different experience,” Muessig said. He also jokingly said that it will be nice to take some bragging rights with him to Kentucky.

Holmes has been at Western since 1984, and under Holmes’ direction, the Toppers have won 207 matches, more than any other in-state Division I program.

Holmes said that 11 players will transfer, and of those 11, seven have grade-point averages of 3.5 or better.

Holmes said the loss will leave Western without “one hell of a resource.”

“The guys went through something pretty tough,” he said. “It’s not as tough as, you know, (the) Virginia Tech (tragedy), but it’s been a blow to their young lives, a decision like this.”

After the match, as players hugged family members and thanked friends, Rickman remained reflective.

“Someone has to say goodbye to everybody,” he said. “This is how a lot of us feel, and a lot of us don’t know how to basically admit that we’re kind of sad, but it’s too emotional at this time.”

Reach Andrew Robinson at sports@chherald.com.