TicketsOct. 20, 2005
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FOR STARTERS:
The men's soccer team will return to BIG EAST play with a home date against Villanova on Oct. 22. The Bearcats and Wildcats will kick off at 7 p.m. It is alumni night at Gettler Stadium. All former Bearcats will be admitted for $1 per person and the match will feature an alumni raffle, giveaways and halftime activities.
BEARCAT BITES:
Sophomore Kenny Anaba has scored a goal in six of the last eight matches.
The Bearcats' 1-0 win against on Oct. 19 stopped a three-match losing streak.
UC's 1-0 loss against No. 3 St. John's on Oct. 8 snapped its school record-tying seven match unbeaten streak.
After scoring 19 goals in its first 11 matches, UC has tallied just three in its last four (1-3-0).
UC sits in third place in the competitive BIG EAST Red Division with 14 points, seven points behind former Conference rival South Florida and three points back of preseason favorite .
Twelve different Bearcats have notched at least one point this season.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS:
(8-5-2, 4-2-2) stepped out of conference play and snapped a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory at on Oct. 19. Sophomore Kenny Anaba scored the lone goal of the match, his seventh of the season. Anaba has scored in six of his last eight matches. John-Michael Boggs made his first appearance of 2005 in goal, earning the shutout.
UC has scored 22 goals this season, allowing 17, and is outshooting its opponents, 223-168. The Bearcats are third in the BIG EAST in shots and sixth in goals.
sports a balanced offensive attack with 12 different players scoring points and eight scoring goals. Six different Bearcats have accounted for game-winning goals this season. Anaba leads the squad with seven goals and 15 points. Omar Cummings (5G, 4 A) has accounted for 13 points, while Sam Miller (3G, 1A) and Mike Dwyer (2G, 3A) have each supplied seven points. Goalkeeper Mike Vessells has registered 51 saves, three shutouts, and a 1.17 goals against average this season.
Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his fifth season with the Bearcats. He is 43-35-16 during his tenure at UC. Dayes has not faced Villanova.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
The Villanova Wildcats (4-6-3, 3-3-1) enter the match winless in six straight contests (0-3-3) after posting a 1-1 tie against in non-conference action on Oct. 19. Patrick Gallagher scored VU's lone goal of the match.
Villanova has been outscored, 16-11, this season, despite outshooting opponents, 167-163. A physical team, the Wildcats have been whistled for 223 fouls, compared to their opponents' 142.
Joe Taylor (2G, 5A) is the leading scorer for the Wildcats with nine points. Teammate Charlie Rowan has tallied four goals for eight points. The goalkeeping duo of Jason Friel and John Ward has posted a 1.17 goals against average and four shutouts this season.
Head coach Larry Sullivan is in his 16th year at Villanova. He holds a 95-142-26 overall record during his tenure and will face for the first time.
UC-VILLANOVA SERIES HISTORY:
New BIG EAST divisional rivals, the Bearcats and Wildcats will meet for the first time in their histories in 2005.
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK:
With a win against Villanova, the Bearcats will lock up at least a fourth seed in the Red Division, meaning they will at least host a first-round match at Gettler Stadium. BIG EAST first round action will beheld on campus sites on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
SOCCER VIDEO LIVE ON WEB:
UC Vision will produce a live webcast of the men's soccer matches on Oct. 22 vs. Villanova and Oct. 26 vs. DePaul. The webcasts will begin approximately five minutes before kickoff. Prior to the DePaul match, UC Vision will broadcast the Senior Day ceremonies beginning approximately 15 minutes prior to kickoff. UC Vision is a subscription service available at www.uc.edu/ucvision.
WHAT'S THE FREQUENCY, KENNY:
Coming into the season, the question surrounding the Bearcats after losing the top four scorers from the 2004 sqaud was: Who will score the goals? Sophomore Kenny Anaba has stepped up, scoring seven times thus far, including game-winners against Xavier (Sept. 28) and Bowling Green (Oct. 19). The two-headed scoring attack of Anaba and Omar Cummings has yielded 12 of UC's 22 goals and accounted for 107 of the Bearcats' 223 shots. Anaba, who scored 40 goals as a senior in high school, has scored in six of his last eight matches.
SPREADING THE WEALTH:
has spread the scoring around this season. Through 15 matches, 12 different Bearcats have tallied at least one point. Eight different players have scored goals, with five notching their first career markers for UC. The Bearcats have recorded eight wins, and six different players have accounted for game-winning goals.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSE:
The Bearcats have gotten some offensive help from their backline through the first 14 matches of the season. UC defender Amir Ikner scored the game-winner against No. 18 Notre Dame. He has also posted two assists, accounting for four points. Fellow defender Kevin Schrand has added two assists and Ewan Blair has also added a helper, giving UC defenders seven points on the year.
BRINGING OUT THE BEST:
UC has played its best this season against its top competition. On Sept. 16, the Bearcats dropped No. 1 UConn from the ranks of the unbeaten win a 2-0 win at home. Just a week later, UC topped No. 18 Notre Dame on the road to stay unbeaten in BIG EAST play. On Oct. 8, despite playing a man down for the final 85 minutes of the match, the Bearcats hung with No. 3 St. John's, ultimately falling, 1-0.
OH MY, OMAR!:
Junior Omar Cummings earned BIG EAST and national honors on Sept. 20 after scoring both UC goals in the Bearcats' 2-0 win against No. 1 UConn on Sept. 16. Cummings earned Soccer America Player of the Week honors as well as being named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week. The transfer from nearby ranks second on the squad with five goals and 14 points. Cummings ranks second in the BIG EAST with 56 shots.
FIRE AWAY:
UC has put pressure on opposing defenses and goalkeepers, as the Bearcats have attempted 223 shots, third in the BIG EAST. By contrast, UC has limited opponents to just 168 shots, including 69 on goal. The Bearcats have posted double-digit shots in all but two matches this season, including four matches with 20 or more attempts. UC has outshot its opponent in all but five matches this season.
IRON IKNER:
Sophomore defender Amir Ikner has started all 15 matches for the Bearcats in 2005 and has yet to leave the field. He is the only Bearcat to play in each of the 1,393 minutes of action this season. After starting the final 11 matches of his freshman campaign, Ikner has played in 2,271 of a possible 2,426 minutes over the last 26 matches. The Bearcats are 13-9-4 and have given up just 26 goals in that span.
NEW FACES MAKING AN IMPACT:
Eight first or second-year Bearcats have scored points for UC this season. Sophomore Kenny Anaba (7G, 1A) leads the Bearcats with 15 points, while junior transfer Omar Cummings (5G, 4A) is close behind with 14 points. Sophomores Amir Ikner (1G, 2A), Noah Davidson (1G, 1A), and Kevin Schrand (2A), have combined for two goals and five assists while true freshmen Dominic Oppong (1G) and Landry Gray (2A) have posted two points each.
SAM I AM:
Junior midfielder Sam Miller has been a steady force for the Bearcats in the midfield all season. He has started in 14 of 15 matches, coming off the bench in the season-opener against , and has seen over 1,300 minutes of action. Miller is third on the squad with three goals and has added an assist for seven points. The 2003 Conference USA All-Freshman Team honoree scored the game-winner against on Sept. 23 and netted UC's lone goal against on Sept. 18.
SOCCER EARNS FIRST BIG EAST WIN:
The men's soccer team became the first of athletic program to win a BIG EAST Conference game with its 4-3 victory at on Sept. 7.
UNDEFEATED, UNPRECEDENTED:
The Bearcats' 4-0-2 start in BIG EAST action this season marked the first time in the history of the program that UC had been undefeated six matches into the conference slate.
ALL THINGS MUST COME TO AN END:
Several streaks came to an end in the Bearcats' 1-0 loss against No. 3 St. John's. UC's seven-match unbeaten streak, which tied a school record set in 1999 and matched in 2003, was snapped by the Red Storm. The Bearcats had gone seven matches since last being shutout, a 1-0 loss to on Sept. 11. had been 4-0-0 in its last four matches against nationally-ranked opponents and had not lost in six BIG EAST matches this season. Sophomore forward Kenny Anaba had scored in four straight matches before being kept off the scoreboard by .
UP NEXT:
The Bearcats will host their final home match of the season against DePaul on Oct. 26. Prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff, UC will honor its senior class. The match will be broadcast live, beginning with the pre-match Senior Day activities, on UC Vision. UC Vision can be viewed by visiting www.uc.edu/ucvision.