TicketsBearcats Face Kentucky Rivals
UC puts six-match unbeaten streak on the line
Contact: Jeremy Martin
10/26/2004
Junoir Eric Edwards is tied for the team lead with four assists |
The University of Cincinnati men?s soccer team will play a pair of Kentucky rivals as the Bearcats travel to Lexington for a non-conference match with the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. They then return home to face Louisville on Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bearcats stormed past Bowling Green on Oct. 24, 6-0, as junior Jeff Hughes netted two goals to extend the UC unbeaten streak to six matches.
HOT CATS: The Bearcats are the hottest team in C-USA at the moment, unbeaten in their last six matches. UC holds a 4-0-2 record in those six matches and has outscored its opponents by a 13-2 margin. During the streak, the Bearcats defeated No. 13 USF at home and No. 21 Saint Louis on the road.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: The Kentucky Wildcats (9-4-3/4-1-1 MAC) clinched the Mid-American Conference regular season championship with a 1-1 tie at Akron on Oct. 22.
Jamal Shteiwi leads the Wildcats with 11 goals and six assists for 28 points, topping the MAC in both categories.
Head coach Ian Collins, three-time MAC Coach of the Year, owns a 127-82-17 record in his 11 seasons at UK.
UC-KENTUCKY SERIES HISTORY: The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 12-6-2, but Kentucky got by UC twice last season. UK defeated Cincinnati, 1-0, in the regular season and the two teams met again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky advanced on penalty kicks after the squads played to a 0-0 tie through two ovetimes. UC has not beaten the Wildcats since 2001.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Louisville Cardinals travel to Cincinnati with a 5-6-4 overall record, 4-3-1 in conference play. The Cardinals shutout East Carolina, 3-0, on Oct. 24.
David Guzman is tied for the team lead in goals (3) and assists (2) and leads the Cardinals with eight points.
Tony Colavecchia is in his ninth season with the Cardinals. He is 75-93-16 as the Louisville head coach.
UC-LOUISVILLE SERIES HISTORY: Cincinnati leads the series, 18-9-2, against its longtime rival. The Cardinals have won the past two meetings, however, including a 2-1 overtime victory in Louisville last season.
VESSELLS AWARDED AGAIN: Sophomore goalkeeper Mike Vessells was named Conference USA Defensive Player-of-the-Week for the week ending on Oct. 24, his second straight POW honor. Vessells made 13 saves in two shutout wins, including eights stops in a 1-0 victory at C-USA power Saint Louis. Vessells has notched four shutouts in the last five matches.
PATRICK CLIMBING CHARTS: Senior forward Wiremu Patrick continues his ascent up the Bearcat career scoring lists. Patrick has scored seven goals this season, moving into sole possession of sixth place on the school?s all-time goals list with 27. Patrick also owns the seventh-highest career point total in UC history with 66 total points.
CUTTING IT CLOSE: Though the Bearcats are 6-7-2, they have played each match tight, with 12 matches being decided by one goal or less. Cincinnati, fielding a young team that starts only four seniors, has played a tough schedule that has included four top-25 teams and three 2003 NCAA Tournament participants.
WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN: UC?s 1-0 victory at Saint Louis on Oct. marked just the second time in the 10-year history of Conference USA that a member of the league has defeated SLU in consecutive matches. The Bearcats topped the Billikens, 4-3, in overtime in 2003. UAB defeated Saint Louis twice in 1999, but both matches were in Birmingham.
WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN, PART 2: The Bearcats? victory at Hermann Stadium was just the fourth win for a conference team on the Billikens? home turf in the history of C-USA. Cincinnati joins Evansville in 1996, Charlotte in 2000, and Louisville in 2003 as the only squads to defeat Saint Louis at home during that span.
WE?RE GOING STREAKING: The Bearcats? six-match unbeaten streak is one shy of the school record, set in 1999 and equaled last season. UC can tie the school mark with a win or tie against Kentucky and set a new standard against Louisville.
THREE?S COMPANY: Seniors Wiremu Patrick and Jeremiah Gallegos and junior Jeff Hughes have combined to score 17 of the Bearcat?s 21 goals and record 38 of UC?s 61 points this season. The Bearcats are 6-2-2 when one of the three nets a goal. Gallegos scored two goals in a 3-2 win against Bradley on Sept. 16. Not to be outdone, Hughes scored twice against East Carolina in the C-USA opener on Sept. 25. Patrick notched a pair of tallies in the Bearcat?s 3-0 win at Charlotte on Oct. 9.
UNSINKABLE VESSELLS: Keeper Mike Vessells finds his name all over the Conference USA leaderboard. Vessells is third in goals against average at 1.03. He ranks fourth in save percentage (.805), second in saves (66), fourth in saves per match (4.40), and tied for second with four shutouts.
SIX OF ONE...HALF-DOZEN OF THE OTHER: UC?s six-goal outburst against Bowling Green on Oct. 24 marked the best offensive output and largest margin of victory since a 6-0 win against TCU in 2001. Five different Bearcats scored in accounting for 29 percent of the goals netted for the season.
FRESH FACES: In the 6-0 triumph against Bowling Green on Oct. 24, 19 Bearcats saw action. Freshmen Lionel Jackson, Kenny Anaba, Amir Ikner and Chad Cook, along with sophomore Sean Hassman, notched their first career points in the rout. Jackson and Hassman scored a goal apiece, while Anaba picked up two assists and Ikner and Cook added a helper each.
COMING UP: UC welcomes Marquette to Gettler Stadium on Nov. 7 for its final regular season match of 2004. It will be the Bearcats? final regular season match as a member of Conference USA.