TicketsSept. 20, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to rival Xavier, 2-1 in overtime, tonight in front of 871 spectators at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats (2-4-2) have lost two straight and fell to their crosstown rival for the first time since 1998.
After a scoreless first half, Cincinnati cracked the scoreboard first, striking in the 53rd minute. Jenn Johannigman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) put back a rebound after a longLindsey Noteboom (Hurst, Texas/Birdville)shot for her team-leading third goal of the season, giving UC a 1-0 lead and marking the seventh time in eight matches this season that the Bearcats have opened the scoring.
Xavier's Sara Schmidt knotted the match in the 61st minute after taking a pass from Maggie O'Neal. Schmidt hooked a shot to the far post past UC keeper Sherry Slye (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon).
Both teams had several scoring opportunities throughout the match, as Xavier hit the crossbar on two occasions and UC's Kate Norton (Rector, Pa./Greenburg Central Catholic) and Kristin May (Hudson, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) just missed with open looks at the net. With UC leading, 1-0, Norton took a feed from Becky Imhoff (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) inside the box and punched a shot just high of the mark. In overtime, May has a golden opportunity to ice the match for the Bearcats as she raced in on Xavier keeper Ashley Donaldson one-on-one. May lofted a shot over the head of Donaldson, but it too cleared the cross bar and landed harmlessly on top of the net.
Just moments after May's close call, Xavier was awarded a corner kick and converted. Amber Silvis served the ball into the box and onto the head of Schmidt, who knocked in her second goal of the match for the game-winner.
The match was evenly played, with Xavier outshooting Cincinnati, 17-16. The Bearcats took three corners to Xavier's two. Slye made eight saves on the day, but saw her record drop to 2-4-2 on the season.
Head coach Meridy Glenn expected a fierce, evenly played battle between the two rivals. "That's the way the crosstown match is always going to be," Glenn stated. "It's going to be exciting and come down to the wire. We just didn't finish our opportunities. We had a lot of scoring chances, now we just need to find a way to finish them. That is their challenge."
UC is now 19-4-0 all-time against Xavier. The Bearcats had won five straight against XU by a combined 17-5 score.
UC will head to South Bend, Ind. for a match with defending national champion Notre Dame on Sept. 23. Kickoff between the Bearcats and Fighting Irish is set for 5 p.m. ET.