TicketsOct. 4, 2007
KICKOFF:
The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team returns to Gettler Stadium, where the Bearcats are 3-0-0 on the season, for a BIG EAST matchup with No. 25 DePaul on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m.
BEARCAT BITES:
UC, in defense of its 2006 BIG EAST Red Division Championship, holds a 2-1-1 BIG EAST mark after interdivisional play and sits third in the Red Division with seven points.
The Bearcats are 3-0-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 10-1.
UC drew with No. 2 Notre Dame, 1-1, last weekend in South Bend. UC is unbeaten (2-0-1) against the Irish since joining the BIG EAST in 2005. In each of the three meetings, Notre Dame has been ranked in the Top 20 of the national polls.
Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his seventh season at UC, holding a 59-49-19 record with the Bearcats and a 155-134-38 mark as a head coach.
UC was picked to finish fourth in the Red Division in the BIG EAST preseason coaches poll.
Senior defender Amir Ikner was named to the preseason all-BIG EAST team after earning all-BIG EAST second team and NSCAA/adidas all-Great Lakes honors in 2006.
UC's eight-member recruiting class was ranked No. 26 by CollegeSoccerNews.com.
LAST TIME OUT:
UC dropped its first BIG EAST Conference match on Sept. 30, a 2-1 double overtime decision at Marquette. The Bearcats fall to 3-5-1 overall and 2-1-1 in league play, while Marquette (2-6-1, 1-4-0) won for just the second time this season. Noah Davidson converted a penalty kick in the 51st minute for his second goal of the season and the lone Bearcat tally on the afternoon. Marquette got on the board first in the 34th minute on Nick Kay's first goal of the season. After 14 scoreless minutes of overtime soccer, the Golden Eagles notched the game winner in the 105th minute of action. Kay scored his second goal of the match on a header from just inside the box to net Marquette's first BIG EAST win since 2005.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS:
DePaul (6-2-0, 2-2-0 BE) was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Red Division, but has impressed early in 2007, creeping into the Top 25 after defeating No. 2 Connecticut at home.
The Blue Demons started the season 4-0-0, the first time in school history that the team won its first four matches.
The Blue Demons' current No. 5 slot in the Great Lakes Region NSCAA/adidas poll is the highest in program history.
The No. 17 ranking in last week's Soccer America Top 25 is the first national ranking in DePaul's program history.
Brian Visser became the first goalkeeper in school history with four consecutive shutouts in a season with four clean sheets to begin the 2007 schedule.
Visser also holds the DePaul career record with 14 shutouts. He has totaled the 14 shutouts in 43 matches.
Head coach Craig Blazer is in his seventh season with the Blue Demons, holding a 31-70-11 overall record.
CINCINNATI-DE PAUL SERIES HISTORY:
The Bearcats and Blue Demons have a history stretching back to the early 1980s and their days in the Metro Conference. UC holds a 13-6-3 edge overall and is 6-4-1 all-time against DePaul in Cincinnati. UC is unbeaten in its last four matches against DePaul (3-0-1).
CINCINNATI STATE CONNECTION:
Patrick Baxter and Scott Stockum, both former Cincinnati State standouts, have made the transition to Division I soccer look easy. Baxter, a senior, was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week after scoring three goals and adding an assist in UC's weekend sweep of Georgetown and Seton Hall. Stockum, a junior, is third on the team with six points, posting two goals and two assists in six matches this season. The pair followed an all-time Bearcat great from Cincinnati State, Omar Cummings, who earned a pair of unanimous all-BIG EAST first-team honors and the first first-team all-America award in UC men's soccer history in 2006.
HAVING THEIR NUMBER:
The Bearcats have enjoyed success against Notre Dame, one of the top programs in the nation. Since joining the BIG EAST in 2005, UC has posted a 2-0-1 record against the Irish. In each meeting, Notre Dame has entered the match ranked in the top 25, including this season, when the Irish were the No. 2 team in the country.
FAST START FOR ANABA:
Senior forward Kenny Anaba scored a pair of goals in UC's season opener on Aug. 31. He added two more against Xavier on Sept. 13. The team's leading goal-scorer each of the last two seasons, Anaba is ascending the career records list at UC. With his five goals this season, Anaba is tied for eighth in school history with 21 tallies. He is also eighth with 54 career points (21 G, 12 A).
FRESH FACE IN GOAL:
Freshman goalkeeper Miguel Rosales has started each of the last eight matches in goal for the Bearcats, posting his first career shutout against Xavier on Sept. 13. A two-time Colorado Player of the Year as a prep star at Smoky Hill High School, Rosales has posted 29 saves, good for seventh in the BIG EAST, and has carded a 0.96 goals against average.
NEXT UP:
The Bearcats wrap up a short two-match homestand with a mid-week matchup against regional rival Bowling Green on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in Gettler Stadium.