TicketsOctober 8, 2005
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- A red card in the fifth minute changed the outlook of the entire match, as the University of Cincinnat men's soccer team, ranked No. 17 in the nation, dropped a heartbreaker, 1-0, to No. 3 St. John's in front of 984 spectators tonight at Gettler Stadium. The loss is UC's (7-3-2, 4-1-2) first in BIG EAST play and snaps a seven-match unbeaten streak. St. John's (7-1-3, 5-0-2) ran its unbeaten streak to eight with its sixth consecutive shutout.
Cincinnati redshirt freshman defender Brad Simpson (Novi, Mich./Novi) was issued a red card by the referee just 4:14 into the match, leaving the Bearcats to play a man down the rest of the way. As SJU's Matt Groenwald raced up the right side, Simpson, the last Bearcat defender between Groenwald and the goalkeeper, took him down, earning an automatic red card. UC was forced to change offensive philosphy, playing an 11-on-10 match.
The Bearcats weathered the storm for the rest of the first half, as St. John's held possession of the ball nearly the entire period. The Red Storm held a 7-3 advantage in shots and were able to control the midfield throughout.
St. John's continued to control play early in the second half. The Bearcats played with just one forward up top, content to allow the Red Storm to control the midfield, but tightening up when St. John's entered Bearcat territory.
In the 62nd minute, the Red Storm finally got on the board. Hermann Trophy candidate Groenwald played a pass in to Tony Beltran along the right side. Beltran hooked a cross into the box and onto the foot of Andre Schmid, who tapped a shot past Bearcat goalkeeper Mike Vessells (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) for the eventual game-winner.
Following the goal, UC battled back to regain some momentum. The Bearcats had two scoring chances late in the match, but were unable to post the equalizer. In the 74th minute, Omar Cummings (Old Harbour, Jamaica/Cincinnati State) had an opportunity after a scramble in front of the St. John's goal, but his shot from just a few yards out was blocked by a defender and eventually cleared. Just over 10 minutes later, Mike Dwyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) took a through ball from Kenny Anaba (Westerville, Ohio/Worthington Christian) and raced in on St. John's goalkeeper Jason Landers. Landers came out of his net and slid into Dwyer covering the ball in the process. St. John's finished with just an 11-10 edge in shots after UC posted seven shots in the second half.
"I am really, really proud of the way our guys battled back tonight," head coach Hylton Dayes said. "We never quit and our guys really competed even being down a man."
St. John's now sits in first place in the BIG EAST Red Division with 17 points, while idle South Florida (15) occupies second. The Bearcats are right behind with 14 points. The loss snaps UC's school-record seven-match unbeaten streak, and marks just the second time this season that the Bearcats have been shutout.
Cincinnati will take a break from conference play and welcome the Oakland Golden Grizzlies to Gettler Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday, Oct. 12.