TicketsNov. 22, 2006
The men's soccer team made its mark on school history in 2006. The Bearcats won the first team BIG EAST Championship by capturing the league's Red Division crown and made its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Three Bearcats earned All-BIG EAST honors, including preseason All-American Omar Cummings, who was unanimously selected to the first team for the second straight season. Juniors Kenny Anaba and Amir Ikner were each tabbed as second team choices.
A HOT START
The season began with a road match at crosstown rival Xavier. Cummings provided the theatrics, scoring the game winner on a breakaway in overtime to give UC its second straight 1-0 victory against the Musketeers. Cummings again notched the game-winner four days later in UC's home opener against defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Bradley. The Bearcats dominated the Braves, outshooting the visitors by a 14-5 count, and won, 2-0.
A ROUGH STRETCH
With optimism high after a 2-0 start to the season, the Bearcats headed to for the SMU Radisson Invitational. In the first match of the mini-tournament, the Bearcats ran into a buzzsaw as No. 2 SMU breezed to a 6-0 win. The Mustangs spent the majority of the season as the consensus No. 1 team in the nation and were undefeated until very late in the regular season. The next day, UC outplayed a talented Florida International side, but were unable to crack the scoreboard and settled for a 0-0 tie.
BIG EAST play opened the following weekend and the Bearcats were on the road for two more contests. UC played well in spurts, but gave up too many chances in falling at No. 10 West Virginia, 2-0. Two days later, UC found itself heading into double-overtime against a feisty squad playing on its home turf. A restart goal for the Panthers gave them a 2-1 victory and sent the Bearcats home with a 2-3-1 record and a lot of questions.
With 2005's leading scorers, Cummings and Anaba, returning for 2006, the Bearcats seemed to have plenty of offensive firepower. But the squad had scored just once in four matches and just five times through its first six contests of the season.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK
Maybe all they needed was some home cooking. UC returned to the friendly confines of Gettler Stadium for a BIG EAST weekend against Marquette and No. 12 Notre Dame. UC cruised to a 3-1 win against a rebuilding squad, setting up a Sunday afternoon matchup against Notre Dame. The Bearcats fell behind the Irish early, but Anaba equalized and then set up Noah Davidson's header for the game-winner, giving UC its second straight win against the highly-ranked Irish. Anaba was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week for his performance and also earned College Soccer News National Team of the Week honors.
UC then handled (3-1), (3-0) and (3-0) at Gettler Stadium, to improve to 7-3-1 and match a school record with five straight wins. With preseason favorites and USF looming, the Bearcats were in a position to take charge of the BIG EAST Red Division.
A HISTORIC WIN
UC headed to , to take on No. 17 St. John's at Belson Stadium, a venue in which the Red Storm had lost just five times since it opened in 2002. Again, the Bearcats found themselves down early as scored in the 28th minute. UC would fight back, however, as Cummings tallied his fifth goal in the 78th minute to knot the match. Just moments later, Anaba won it for the Bearcats with his fifth goal of the season. It was UC's sixth straight victory, a school record, and marked just the 12th loss at home (108-12-21) for the Red Storm since 1991. UC now controlled its destiny in the race for the Red Division crown with a 5-2-0 conference mark. Sophomore Brad Simpson was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the Soccer America National Team of the Week, while Cummings and goalkeeper Mike Vessells earned spots on the BIG EAST Honor Roll.
After the win against , the Bearcats made a splash in the national polls, being ranked as high as No. 15 by Soccer .
Leading the Red Division by four points with four BIG EAST matches to play, the Bearcats welcomed USF to Gettler Stadium on Oct. 7. UC outplayed the visiting Bulls, firing 21 shots to USF's nine, but settled for a 0-0 draw, sustaining the four-point lead in the standings.
MILESTONE FOR DAYES
Head coach Hylton Dayes, in his sixth season at UC, has built the Bearcats into a BIG EAST power and a contender on the national level. Against on Oct. 11, Dayes reached a coaching milestone by picking up his 150th career victory. A 17th-year head coach, Dayes spent 11 seasons at his alma mater, , where he split time with the men's and women's programs. He has posted nine winning seasons during his 17 years as a head coach and ended 2006 with a 152-129-37 record.
BIG EAST CHAMPS!
Following a loss to , which snapped an eight-match unbeaten streak, the Bearcats controlled their destiny with only road wins against DePaul and Villanova standing in the way of a BIG EAST Championship. Winning on the road in the BIG EAST is no easy task, and the Bearcats found that despite their records, the Blue Demons and Wildcats would not be pushovers.
Cummings scored a brilliant goal at DePaul to give UC a hard-fought 1-0 win and the Villanova match headed to overtime at 1-1 despite a 20-8 advantage in shots for the Bearcats. Anaba scored the game-winner in double overtime and the celebration began.
NCAA BOUND
After dropping a tough 2-0 decision against in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, the Bearcats earned an at-large bid to the 48-team NCAA Tournament. UC played at Northwestern on a cold and blustery Nov. 10, falling 3-0 to the Big 10 representative.
A PROGRAM ON THE RISE
UC met a pair of its goals this season-win the BIG EAST Red Division and make the NCAA Tournament. With two successful seasons in the BIG EAST in the books, the Bearcats are building toward the future. Competing on the national stage is just around the corner for the squad, as evidenced by the No. 15 national ranking and highly ranked recruiting class.
With the BIG EAST affiliation, the new facilities around campus and the emergence of UC as a legitimate player on the national scene, Dayes and his staff look forward to continued success in the years to come.