TicketsApril 9, 2007
, - The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team opened its spring season in freezing conditions against and on Saturday (April 7) at 's Bajuan Field. The Bearcats fell, 1-0, to and played OSU to a 0-0 draw.
The young Bearcats - who will replace six departed seniors in the fall, including first-team All-American forward Omar Cummings - played with several inexperienced underclassmen. Freshman Chris Thompson saw his first game action at UC, while fellow frosh Alex Marrello had a solid afternoon in the central midfield. scored early in the second half and held off several UC chances to pick up the win.
"We weren't very sharp, as you would expect in our first spring game," head coach Hylton Dayes said. "We created enough chances and probably should have scored a goal or two, but we just weren't able to finish."
In the second match, UC battled to a scoreless tie. Dayes was much happier with his club's performance against the Buckeyes.
"I thought we played a lot better against a good team," Dayes commented. "I thought the energy was good and we were able to possess the ball and knock it around pretty well."
Senior John-Michael Boggs made a few key saves in goal, while fellow senior Patrick Baxter applied constant pressure on the Buckeye back four from his striker position.
The five-team tournament featured UC, , State, , and .
The Bearcats are next in action on Thursday, April 12, when they travel to for a 6 p.m. kickoff with the Zips.