TicketsOct. 18, 2006
- An Omar Cummings goal in the 64th minute led the No. 21 University of Cincinnati men's soccer team to a 1-0 win against DePaul on Wednesday afternoon at Wish Field.
With the win, the Bearcats move closer to a BIG EAST Red Division Championship. UC (10-4-2/6-3-1) leads the Red Division with 19 points with one match remaining. Despite the loss, DePaul (5-10-2/4-6-0) locked up a BIG EAST tournament berth with Villanova's 2-0 loss at St. John's.
In a scoreless first half, the Bearcats outshot DePaul, 9-3. Kwame Sarkodie sent a pair of rockets toward goal in the early minutes, but was wide with both. UC had a couple build ups lead to quality chances, with a pair of shots being sent in by Kenny Anaba, both saved by Brian Visser.
In the 60th minute, central defender Amir Ikner hit the ground hard after a challenge by Alex Mangen in the UC end. On the restart, Brad Simpson sent his free kick up the field, which was flicked on by Anaba and headed by Sarkodie, but ight into the chest of Visser.
Just moments later, the Bearcats got on the board with the sixth goal of the season from Cummings. After having the ball played into the box by Mike Dwyer, Anaba sent a pass on to Cummings, whose strike ricocheted off the left post and in, sending UC to its eighth win in its last 10 matches.
Goalkeeper Mike Vessells made only one save in recording his seventh shutout of the season, but it was a huge one in the final minute.
"I'm pleased with the overall effort," head coach Hylton Dayes. "This is a tough place to come into and get a result. Our guys just got the job done."
The Bearcats wrap up the regular season schedule against Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. at the Villanova Soccer Complex. A win clinches the Red Division title for the Bearcats in their second season in the BIG EAST.