TicketsBearcats Drop First C-USA Match
Lewis Nets Goal for Cincinnati
Contact: Christie Hadley
10/15/2003
LOUISVILLE, KY ? The No. 21 University of Cincinnati men?s soccer team dropped its first Conference USA match of the season to Louisville 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday.
Louisville scored the first goal of the game early when Felipe Tolomelli gathered a loose ball and crossed it to Simon Bird who drew John Adams (Wadsworth, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) out of the goal, blasting a shot into the back of the net to put the Cardinals up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
?It was a game of two halves,? head coach Hylton Dayes said. ?We were able to dominate in the second half and score late, but we weren?t sharp in the first half. We were lucky to be down by one.?
The Bearcats came into the second half on fire, dominating the ball, outshooting the Cardinals 11-8 in the first 25 minutes. Cincinnati scored the equalizer in the 80th minute when Josh Gardner (Houston, Texas/Mayde Creek) passed a quick corner kick to John Liersemann (Carrollton, Texas/Trinity Christian) who blasted it directly at the goal ricocheting it off the post. Justin Lewis (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) collected the ball with his heels as he rolled into the goal, knotting the score at 1-1, sending the Bearcats into their sixth overtime this season.
?I?m proud of the way we came back,? Dayes added. ?Louisville is a good team. Now we want to see if we can start another streak.?
Louisville scored the game winner in the 9th minute of overtime when Marco Terminesi passed the ball ahead to Bird who blasted a shot past the diving Adams to score his 10th goal of the season and capture the victory for Louisville (9-5-0, 4-2 C-USA).
The Bearcats (6-2-4, 2-1-1 C-USA) return to action Saturday when they host No. 5 Saint Louis at Meyers Field beginning at 7 p.m.