BearcatMan
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RE: UC Soccer Thread: #20 (RPI) Women draw #14 UCF, beat UConn and USF, now 8-1-2 (2-0-1)
Quote:Bearcats Play #14 UCF to Scoreless Draw in AAC Opener
Madison Less stops career-high seven shots to keep Knights off the board
CINCINNATI - Madison Less recorded a career-high seven saves to anchor the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team to a scoreless draw with visiting #14 UCF Thursday night in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams at Gettler Stadium. The tie saw the Bearcats move to 6-1-2 overall on the year while the Knights, playing their first match since September 3 because of Hurricane Irma, moved to 4-1-1 overall.
The Bearcats, coming off their first loss of the season last week at LSU (1-0), finished the match with nine shots to UCF's 15, marking just the second time UC has been out-shot this season (1-0-1 in those matches). Defensively, Less' performance was clutch for the Bearcats as she recorded seven saves, bettering her previous best of four stops at LSU last week.
// QUICK NOTES
• The Bearcats moved to 6-1-2 on the year while UCF moved to 4-1-1 overall
• The series remains tied at 3-3-2
• UC moved to 0-0-2 in overtime matches this year after tying Pittsburgh, 2-2, earlier this year
• The Bearcats are now 4-0-2 at home in 2017
• UC is now 11-11-2 all-time in its first conference match of the season and 8-11-5 in their first home conference match of the year
• The tie marks the second year in a row that UC's first home conference match of the year ended in a 0-0 draw (vs. Houston)
• Madison Less recorded a career-high seven saves in goal, improving her previous best of four (at LSU, 9/14/17)
• Vanessa Gilles started her 71st career match, leaving her one shy of the 10th-most in program history
• Senior Lizzie Ehrnfelt made her season debut for the Bearcats and played 16 minutes in her return
Both teams raced up and down the pitch much of the night with neither back line conceding many solid chances. In the first half, UCF had the first attempt of the night as they launched a shot from distance that Less easily gobbled up. Then, in the 25', Jill Vetere had a great look on goal, but her shot just went wide to keep the match scoreless. The Knights had another good chance in the final minutes of the first half as they got in close to the goal and took a shot from five feet out the Less slid in front of and blocked away to keep zeros on the board.
Following the intermission, it was the Bearcats' turn for another close attempt and it came in the 67'. First, Taylor Pavlika played the ball in from outside the box and saw it bounce off the crossbar. From there, Sophie Gorman fired a shot from close range only to see UCF keeper Vera Varis make the save to keep UC off the board.
The biggest threat of the night, however, came in the 78'. UC earned a free kick from the right side with Pavlika playing the ball into the box. The UCF keeper came off her line to try and clear the ball away, but Vanessa Gilles got her head to it first and sent a shot looping into the air. It came down near the line with Vetere hitting the ball with her head and into the net, but the goal was waved off as offsides was whistled on the Bearcats.
In the 85', UCF took another crack at breaking the scoreless draw with a shot that rung off the crossbar and back into the field of play before the Bearcats sent the ball flying to clear the danger away. In overtime, it was more of the same as UCF, just three minutes into the extra session, hit the crossbar again. Then, in the 99', Vetere nearly got the winner, but her shot just missed wide and the match would end up scoreless.
Quote:Vetere’s First UC Goal Gives Bearcats 1-0 Victory at UConn
UC moves to 2-0-1 in AAC action as junior transfer helps secure team’s eighth of the year
CINCINNATI - Jill Vetere notched her first goal as a member of the team and the defense posted its third clean sheet in a row as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team collected a 1-0 victory over host UConn at Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn., Thursday night. The win, UC's first at UConn in the five matches played, pushed the Bearcats to 8-1-2 overall this year and improved them to 2-0-1 in the American Athletic Conference while the Huskies slipped to 2-5-3 overall and 0-1-0 following the league opener.
"Our second half performance was something I will always remember about tonight," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "The way we played, with the determination, grit and grind, showed me this team gets it. The way we played in the second half was the opposite of our match at LSU. I am so proud of the character of these players and how they handled our tactical change(s) by playing in a formation that we maybe haven't used much this year. The ladies showed their grit by adapting to the roles we needed them to play and I am so proud of that effort.
"Being from New England and getting my 50th win at Cincinnati here, against a storied UConn program and against Len Tsantiris, who I have a great deal of respect, is something special," Stafford said. "While it is special, I think I will remember this win more for how this team came together and fought to the finish. We were without a couple of key contributors tonight but that didn't stop our players from reacting positively and doing what was needed to be successful. We have a young team with a large group of freshmen and sophomores and they all stepped up tonight with true grit and determination. This wasn't a pretty win, but it is a win and I am extremely proud of how the players & coaches grinded out that win. That is what great programs do."
Vetere, a local product that transferred into the program from Louisville this past summer, was in the right place at the right time as Katy Couperus' shot from distance rang the crossbar and deflected down to Vetere, who hit a half-volley into the back of the net to give the guests a 1-0 lead in the 66'. From there, the Bearcats defense continued to keep the hosts out of the score column to post their seventh shutout of the season through 11 matches. Currently, the defense not only has held all three AAC foes scoreless this year, but currently holds a streak of 336:23 minutes of match time since the last goal was surrendered (at LSU), the sixth-longest streak at UC since the start of the 2001 season and the third-longest since Stafford and his coaching staff took over the program.
Speaking of Stafford, with the win, he collected the 50th win of his Bearcats coaching career while also seeing UConn to just its second home loss in AAC action (since 2013). The Huskies had not lost at home since a 2-0 defeat to USF on October 17, 2014, a span in which they had gone 10-0-0. This is the second time the Bearcats have halted a home winning streak this season as UC's 2-1 win at Northwestern (September 3) was the first home loss (in all competitions) for the Wildcats since a defeat on October 12, 2014.
// QUICK NOTES
• The Bearcats moved to 8-1-2 overall and 2-0-1 in league play on the year while UConn fell to 2-5-3 overall and 0-1-0
• UC is now 12-11-1 all-time in its first road conference match of the year and has won two in a row
• The Bearcats are undefeated in their first road AAC match played dating back to the 2013 season when the league formed, posting a 4-0-1 record (2-1 at Houston, 3-0 at ECU, 2-2 at SMU, 2-0 at ECU and now 1-0 at UConn)
• The win for UC is its first at UConn after going 0-3-1 in the previous four matches in Storrs and cuts the Huskies' advantage in the series to 5-4-2 all-time
• The loss for UConn is their first in AAC play at home since a 2-0 set back to USF on October 17, 2014. It also is just their second loss in AAC home matches since the league started in 2013 with the Huskies falling to 14-2-2 in that span
• The Bearcats have shutout all three AAC foes it has faced this year, including a 0-0 tie with #14 UCF and 1-0 wins over USF and UConn
• With the clean sheet, UC has not allowed a goal in the last 336:23 of play, a streak that ranks as the sixth-longest for the program dating back to the start of the 2001 season and the third-longest under head coach Neil Stafford
• Speaking of Stafford, the win tonight is the 50th in his career at UC
• Jill Vetere scored her first goal as a Bearcat and also her first game-winning score with the team
• Katy Couperus was credited with the assist, the 11th of her UC career
• Madison Less recorded one save while the defense in front of her blocked six different attempts on the night
• Vanessa Gilles made her 75th career start for the Bearcats to tie Heather Herweh (1999-02) for the ninth-most in UC history
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