TicketsNov. 1, 2005
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UC OPENS POSTSEASON AT HOME:
The of men's soccer team, which qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament in its first year in the league, will open first-round tournament play at home on Nov. 2 against . UC, the No. 3 seed from the Red Division, will kick off against the Friars, the Blue Division's No. 6 seed, at 7 p.m. in Gettler Stadium.
BEARCAT BITES:
The Bearcats finished their first regular season in the BIG EAST at 10-6-2 overall and 6-3-2 in conference play.
UC finished third in the BIG EAST's Red Division after being picked to finish fifth by the league's coaches. Another former Conference USA member, South Florida, captured the Red Division crown, while pre-season favorite St. John's finished second.
Sophomore Kenny Anaba has scored a goal in eight of the last 11 matches.
UC has scored six goals in its last three matches after scoring just three in the four matches prior.
UC's 1-0 loss against No. 3 St. John's on Oct. 8 snapped its school record-tying seven match unbeaten streak.
Omar Cummings scored twice against Villanova and added an assist, earning a spot on the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending on Oct. 23.
Kenny Anaba (9 goals, 3 assists) and Omar Cummings (7 goals, 7 assists) tied for team scoring honors with 21 points apiece and rank fifth in the BIG EAST.
Twelve different Bearcats have notched at least one point this season.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS:
(10-6-2, 6-3-2) dropped its regular season finale, 2-1 in double overtime, at on Oct. 29. The Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the first half on Mike Dwyer's fourth goal of the season. Omar Cummings was credited with his team-leading seventh assist on the play. The Bulls knotted the match in the 80th minute and eventually won in the second overtime session, snapping UC's three-match winning streak.
UC has scored 28 goals this season, allowing 21. The Bearcats are outshooting opponents, 276-202, and have posted double-digit shots in all but two matches this season, surpassing the 20-shot mark five times.
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. Sophomore Kenny Anaba (9G, 3A) and junior Omar Cummings (7G, 7A) lead the team and rank fifth in the BIG EAST with 21 points apiece. Junior Dwyer (4G, 3A) has posted 11 points while classmate Sam Miller (3G, 1A) has supplied seven points. Goalkeeper Mike Vessells has registered 64 saves, three shutouts, and a 1.18 goals against average this season.
Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his fifth season with the Bearcats. He is 45-36-16 during his tenure at UC and holds a 0-0-1 record against .
SCOUTING THE FRIARS:
(5-3-7, 3-3-4) wrapped up a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament with a 1-0 win at on Oct. 29. The Friars are making their seventh appearance in the conference tournament and have now qualified for three of the last four BIG EAST tourneys.
The Friars have outscored opponents, 22-16 this season, despite being outshot, 210-169. PC is led by a three-headed scoring attack, spearheaded by Eoin Lynch, who has posted seven goals and four assists for 18 points. Timothy Ritter (5 G, 5A) and Ryan Maduro (4G, 6A) have posted 15 and 14 points, respectively. Goalkeeper Chris Kanopka has played every minute between the pipes this season, holding a 0.96 goals against average and posting 70 saves and four shutouts.
Head coach Chaka Daley has turned his team around in his second season at . Last season, the Friars finished 0-17-0, but Daley has produced a 5-3-7 squad in 2005 and qualified his team for the BIG EAST Tournament. He holds a 0-0-1 record against the Bearcats.
UC-PC SERIES HISTORY:
has met just once in the history of the programs, earlier this season. That contest, on Sept. 18 in , ended in a 1-1 tie. Sam Miller scored for UC early in the first half, but PC's Eoin Lynch converted a penalty kick in the 56th minute to produce the final score.
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK:
The Bearcats open the BIG EAST Tournament as a No. 3 seed from the Red Division against the No. 6 seed from the Blue Division, . The first and second-place finishers in each division earned byes into the quarterfinals. South Florida and 's (Red) and and Seton Hall (Blue) were the beneficiaries of the extra rest. A UC win would send the Bearcats to for a quarterfinal match with Blue Division No. 2 seed Seton Hall.
EARLY RETURNS:
The Bearcats have made the transition from Conference to the BIG EAST Conference pretty smoothly this season, finishing with the third-best record in the 16-team league (6-3-2). Nationally recognized as one of the nation's top soccer conferences, the BIG EAST has had nine of its teams ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the four national polls at some point this season.
DYNAMIC DUO:
Forwards Kenny Anaba and Omar Cummings have become one of the most lethal pairs of scorers in the BIG EAST this season, combining for 42 points. Only Seton Hall's Sacha Kljestan and Eliseo Giusfredi, who have combined for 52 points, top the Bearcat duo. The two-headed scoring attack of Anaba and Cummings has yielded 16 of UC's 28 goals and accounted for 136 of the Bearcats' 276 shots. Anaba currently ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in goals (9), while Cummings is ninth (7). The pair is tied for fifth with 21 points.
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 nine times thus far, including game-winners against Xavier (Sept. 28), Bowling Green (Oct. 19), and DePaul (Oct. 26). Anaba, who scored 40 goals as a senior in high school, has scored in eight of his last 11 matches.
OH MY, OMAR!:
Junior Omar Cummings earned BIG EAST Honor Roll recognition after scoring two goals and handing out two assists during the week ending on Oct. 23, leading the Bearcats to two wins. Cummings earned conference 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 is tied for fifth in the BIG EAST with 21 points (7G, 7A). Cummings leads the BIG EAST with 75 shots.
SPREADING THE WEALTH:
Though Kenny Anaba and Omar Cummings are the primary scorers, has spread the points around this season. At the conclusion of the regular season, 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 10 wins, and six different players have accounted for game-winning goals.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSE:
The Bearcats have gotten some offensive help from their backline this 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 three assists and Ewan Blair has also added a helper, giving UC defenders eight 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 with 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.
FIRE AT WILL:
UC has put pressure on opposing defenses and goalkeepers, as the Bearcats have attempted 276 shots, tops in the BIG EAST. By contrast, UC has limited opponents to just 202 shots, including 86 on goal. The Bearcats have posted double-digit shots in all but two matches this season, including five matches with 20 or more attempts. UC has outshot its opponent in all but six matches this season.
NEW FACES MAKING AN IMPACT:
Eight first or second-year Bearcats have scored points for UC this season. Sophomore Kenny Anaba (9G, 3A) and junior transfer Omar Cummings (7G, 7A) lead the Bearcats with 21 points apiece. Sophomores Amir Ikner (1G, 2A), Noah Davidson (1G, 1A), and Kevin Schrand (3A), have combined for two goals and six assists while true freshmen Dominic Oppong (1G) and Landry Gray (2A) have posted two points each.
IRON IKNER:
Sophomore defender Amir Ikner has started all 18 matches for the Bearcats in 2005 and has yet to leave the field. He is the only Bearcat to play in each of the 1,691 minutes of action this season. After starting the final 12 matches of his freshman campaign, Ikner has played in 2,571 of a possible 2,726 minutes over the last 29 matches. The Bearcats are 15-10-4 and have given up just 30 goals in that span. A Conference USA All-Freshman honoree in 2004, Ikner has one goal and two assists this season for four points.
SAM I AM:
Junior midfielder Sam Miller has been a steady force for the Bearcats in the midfield all season. He has started in 17 of 18 matches, coming off the bench in the season-opener against , and has seen over 1,600 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.
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.
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.
MIGHTY MIKE:
Junior Mike Dwyer scored for the second time in as many matches against on Oct. 29. Prior to Oct. 26 against DePaul, the midfielder had not scored since a 4-3 overtime win against Louisville on Sept. 7, a span of 13 straight matches. Dwyer (4G, 3A) is third on the team with 11 points.
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 .
MUCH MORELLI:
Fifth-year senior Tony Morelli has played in all 18 matches this season for the Bearcats. The former walk-on scored the first two goals of his career in the BIG EAST opener against on Sept. 7. His second tally was an overtime game-winner. The midfielder tallied his first career assist on Senior Night (Oct. 26) against DePaul. Prior to this season, Morelli had played in 14 contests, making four starts. He had managed four shots in the first three years of his career. He has surpassed that total with 13 attempts in 2005.
UP NEXT:
With a win, UC would move on in the BIG EAST Tournament to play at Seton Hall on Nov. 5 with kickoff coming at 1 p.m.