TicketsMen's Soccer Set To Open Gettler
Bradley visits for first men's match at newly renovated stadium
Contact: Jeremy Martin
9/14/2004
Senior Wiremu Patrick |
The University of Cincinnati men?s soccer team, still looking for its first win of the season, will welcome Bradley University to Gettler Stadium for the inaugural men?s soccer match at the newly renovated venue on Thursday, Sept. 16. The Bearcats will then travel to Rochester, Michigan to take on the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University on Sunday, Sept. 18.
LAST TIME OUT: UC is coming off consecutive one-goal losses to top-25 teams at the Nike Soccer Classic in St. Louis, Mo. Sept. 10-12. The Bearcats dropped the tournament opener, 1-0, on Sept. 10 against No. 11 Virginia as the only goal of the game came on a penalty kick. UC then fell 3-2 against No. 24 SMU on Sept. 12, fighting back from a one-goal deficit but ultimately losing on a goal in the 73rd minute.
SCOUTING THE BRAVES: The Bradley University Braves travel to Cincinnati on the heels of a co-championship in their own tournament, the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic. The Braves defeated Oregon State, 1-0, in the finale of the tourney on Saturday, Sept. 11.
Bradley is led by junior goalkeeper Chris Dunsheath, who has recorded a 3-1-0 record with three shutouts. He has allowed only two goals this season and has made 16 saves. Offensively, the Braves feature a balanced attack with four players each scoring one goal and five others adding one assist apiece.
Head coach Jim DeRose (Johnson State ?89), the 1998 NSCAA Midwest Coach of the Year, is in his ninth year and has compiled a 97-60-13 record with the Braves.
UC-BRADLEY SERIES HISTORY: The Bearcats hold a 2-1-0 record against the Braves, defeating BU 2-1 last season at Bradley.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES: The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies welcome the Bearcats to OU Soccer Field with a 2-1-1 record. The Grizzlies are coming off a 0-0, double-overtime tie against No. 22 Akron on Sunday, Sept. 12. Oakland?s only loss of the season came to current No. 6 UCLA, 2-1, in double overtime on Sept. 3 at the SoccerTown Classic in Fullerton, Ca.
The Grizzlies are led by junior forward Chris Edwards, who has scored two goals and added one assist for five points. Junior keeper and All-America canidate Jeff Wiese, six-time Mid-Continent Defensive Player of the Week, has notched two shutouts and allowed only three goals this season.
Oakland head coach Jim Parsons has accumulated a 311-101-47 record in his 24 seasons with the Grizzlies and made the NCAA Tournament in 2002 in the school?s fourth season as a Division I participant.
UC-OAKLAND SERIES HISTORY: The Bearcats and Grizzlies have played three times and have each won once with the two teams battling to a 0-0 tie last season.
WHO WILL SCORE?: With the losses of Josh Gardner, Tim Brown and Justin Lewis, who accounted for 18 goals last season, UC will be looking for scoring punch from senior F Wiremu Patrick, junior F Jarrett Devereaux, senior M John Liersemann and junior transfer Jeff Hughes. Patrick is the leading returning scorer, having scored four goals while adding three assists last season for 11 points. He currently leads the team with two goals. Liersemann was the only underclassman to start all 20 matches, scoring two goals and adding three assists. Devereaux scored one goal and assisted on another in 2003. Hughes led the Mid-American Conference with 16 goals and 36 points in 2003 at Western Michigan.
C-USA POLL: The Bearcats have been picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll of Conference USA?s coaches. Perennial power Saint Louis was tabbed as the top team in the conference, while UC, UAB, USF, and Charlotte look to wrestle the title away from the Billikens.
KEEPING IT CLOSE: Although the Bearcats are 0-3-0, they have played each match tight, losing all three by one goal each. Playing a tough schedule that has included two top-25 teams, UC has been outshot 36-27, but not altogether outplayed.
OPENING GETTLER: The Men?s soccer team will play host to Bradley University on September 16 in the first men?s match to be held at Gettler Stadium. The stadium, part of the Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village, features an official size soccer field with FieldTurf Pro playing surface, permanent grandstands with seating for 1,400 patrons, concession stands and restrooms, a pressbox, scoreboard with message center, and lights. Varsity Village addresses the needs to attract quality student-athletes to all of Cincinnati?s sports programs and provide an environment in which they can succeed academically, athletically, and physically.
The UC Board of Trustees approved the naming of the facility in recognition of the $1 million gift given by Ben and Dee Gettler to Varsity Village.
COMING UP: The Bearcats travel accross town to face rival Xavier University on Sept. 22 before opening the 2004 Conference USA season at Gettler Stadium against East Carolina on Sept. 25.