I know - it's soccer - but this game was actaully discussed on Cincinnati radio last night and UC soccer is gaining some attention.
<a href='http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051007/SPT0201/510070323/1035/SPT' target='_blank'>http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...070323/1035/SPT</a>
Soccer Bearcats bedeviling the Big East
St. John's next to test offense
By C. Trent Rosecrans
Post staff reporter
University of Cincinnati goalkeeper Mike Vessells laughs about the way opposing coaches have talked about the Bearcat soccer team.
He's heard talk from opposing coaches who have demeaned the Bearcats' 4-0-2 start in the Big East and their No. 17 ranking in both the NSCAA coaches poll and the Soccer America poll. Vessells said the criticism is the same, that all the Bearcats do is kick the ball long to their streaking forwards.
"Regardless of what they say, we've got the wins," Vessells said. "The UConn coach had some things to say, other coaches make excuses, but we're winning games."
He likened it to criticizing the Indianapolis Colts' offense because they don't run it enough. A more apt description may be the "greatest show on turf" era St. Louis Rams - especially on the artificial turf of Gettler Stadium.
"It is an advantage to be at home because our field is not like any other in college soccer," said UC sophomore forward Kenny Anaba.
Anaba and junior Omar Cummings play the part of the speedy receivers spreading the field. Anaba has scored in each of the last four games, including the game-winner with 16 seconds remaining against Xavier University Sept. 28.
Cummings and Anaba lead the team with five goals each, Cummings paces the team with 12 points, while Anaba has 11. The Bearcats are second in the Big East with 12 goals against conference foes.
"A lot of teams this year try to match our pace, but not one team has done it," Anaba said.
Perhaps the team with the best chance comes to Gettler Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m., as St. John's, ranked as high as third and no lower than fifth in the four major soccer polls, is the second nationally ranked team to come to UC this season. The first was Connecticut, which was ranked first by Soccer America (and is currently No. 9 by the publication). The Huskies left the UC campus with a 2-0 defeat, which propelled the Bearcats into the rankings. Since then, UC defeated another ranked team, Notre Dame, on the road.
The Red Storm has allowed just four goals all season and recorded its fifth consecutive shutout Wednesday in a 1-0 victory over Syracuse.
"Defensively they put a lot of pressure on the ball, they have great athletes and they don't give you a lot of opportunities," UC coach Hylton Dayes said. "You don't get a lot of looks in the box against them. You have to convert the few chances they get. You have to limit their chances too, because if they score a goal, they've won so many 1-0 games that you may not get a good look."
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams, but that shouldn't be too much of an advantage for the Bearcats, said senior defender Ewan Blair, who transferred to UC from St. John's in 2003.
"(St. John's coach Dave Masur) prepares a lot, and breaks down what people do," Blair said. "He watches a lot of tape and does his homework. Preparing for opponents is what they do best."
This game is one Blair has been looking forward to for a long time, but he said his teammates are just as excited for the chance to play one of college soccer's best programs on their home turf.
"They've been in more big games than we have, but we're happy to be at home," Dayes said. "It's an advantage, but St. John's is a team that went to Duke and won 4-0, and Duke was a Final Four team last year. It's only an advantage (to be at home) if we make it an advantage."
