TicketsOct. 7, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The No. 15 University of Cincinnati men's soccer team ran its unbeaten streak to seven straight with a 0-0 draw against preseason BIG EAST Red Division favorite, USF, on Saturday night at Gettler Stadium. The first-place Bearcats (8-3-2 overall, 5-2-1 BIG EAST) keep a four-point lead on the Bulls (6-4-3, 3-2-3) in the Red Division and picked up a point on third-place St. John's, which lost in overtime at Rutgers.
UC controlled play throughout the match, and were clear aggressors on the offensive end, outshooting USF, 21-10. Senior goalkeeper Mike Vessells made four saves, including a game-saver late in regulation on a shot from Kris Raad from point blank range. Vessells 13th career clean sheet puts him all alone in third place in the UC record books and lowered his goals against average to 1.02 this season. Vessells has allowed just one goal in his last four matches, posting a 0.24 GAA during that span with three shutouts.
Reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week Brad Simpson combined with center back Amir Ikner to shut down the potent Bulls offense. Hermann Trophy candidate Rodrigo and 2005 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Jordan Seabrook combined for just six shots and only three on goal, each of which was easily saved by Vessells.
USF goalkeeper Dane Brenner pushed aside several quality chances for the Bearcats, including a pair of headers on corner kicks. In the 59th minute, Kenny Anaba got his head on an Omar Cummings corner kick, but the shot was deflected by Brenner and eventually cleared by the USF defense. Just 10 minutes later another Cummings corner led to a Kieron Gradwell header, which was also turned away by Brenner.
With just seconds remaining in the first overtime session, Kwame Sarkodie put a Cummings cross on frame with a perfect header, beating Brenner. But the shot was cleared off the line by USF's Anthony Wallace, forcing a second overtime.
The final 10 minutes saw just a shot for each team, with neither finding the frame.
"I thought we played very, very solid defensively," head coach Hylton Dayes said. "USF is a team with a lot of weapons and I think our guys did a good job containing them. I thought we created enough chances to get a goal or two, but competed well and their keeper made some saves."
The Bearcats will hit the road to take on in on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Kick off is set for 4 p.m.