TicketsSept. 18, 2008
The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team opens the BIG EAST portion of its 2008 schedule with interdivisional matchups at No. 20/17 Providence on Sept. 19 and at No. 7/4 Connecticut on Sept. 21. The Bearcats take on the Friars at 3 p.m. at Glay Field and battle the Huskies at 1 p.m. in Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
The Friars, ranked No. 20 in the NSCAA poll and No. 17 in the Soccer America poll, are the owners of a 3-0-2 overall mark. PC started the BIG EAST season with a win over previously unbeaten Georgetown on Sept. 13. Tim Ritter leads the Friars in scoring with a goal and two assists. Goalkeeper Tim Murray holds a 0.18 goals agaisnt average, allowing just one goal in five matches.
The Bearcats and Friars will play for the fifth time in the last four seasons after not having met prior to UC joining the BIG EAST. In 2005, UC played PC to a 1-1 draw during the regular season at Gettler Stadium and met the Friars again in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament, falling 2-1 at Gettler Stadium. UC and PC met again in Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament in 2006, where the Friars topped the regular-season champion Bearcats, 2-0. The teams met for the third straight season in the BIG EAST Tournament in 2007, as UC exacted a measure of revenge with a 2-0 win at PC's Glay Field.
No. 7/4 Connecticut is undefeated through five matches this season, holding a 2-0-3 record. The Huskies most recently played No. 9 Saint Louis to a 0-0 draw last weekend. UConn is led bby 2007 M.A.C. Hermann Trophy winner O'Brian White, who has two goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Josh Ford has allowed just one goal in 510 minutes of action, posting four shutouts.
UC holds a 2-0-0 record against the Huskies, one of the nation's top programs. UC defeated UConn, 2-1, in 1999 in the first meeting in Storrs, Conn. In 2005, the Bearcats got a signature win for the program, knocking off the No. 1-ranked Huskies, 2-0, at Gettler Stadium behind a pair of goals by Omar Cummings.
UC will return home for a pair of BIG EAST matches against No. 3/3 Notre Dame and Marquette next weekend, taking on the Irish on Sept. 26 and the Golden Eagles on Sept. 28.