Bearcats Welcome No. 3/3 Notre Dame, Marquette for BIG EAST Weekend

Sept. 25, 2008

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Story Lines

• The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team returns to Gettler Stadium for a pair of BIG EAST matches this weekend. UC hosts No. 3/3 Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. The Bearcats then welcome Marquette on Sunday, Sept. 28 as part of a doubleheader with the women's team.
• Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his eighth season as the head coach at Cincinnati, holding a 67-56-21 record. He is 163-141-40 overall in his 19th season as a head coach. Dayes needs six wins to pass Jim McDowell for second in UC history for coaching victories.
• Captain Brad Simpson (Novi, Mich./Novi) is the lone senior on this year's squad. A three-year starter, Simpson has started 54 of 55 career matches at central defender. He scored from the penalty spot against Kentucky on Sept. 13 for his second career goal.
• Goalkeeper Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) has posted four shutouts in UC's first seven matches. He is second in the BIG EAST with 30 saves and tied for fifth in shutouts.
• The Bearcats return only 10 letterwinners from the 2007 team and welcome 17 newcomers (15 true freshmen, two transfers) to the roster. Returnees accounted for just four of UC's 27 goals scored in 2007 and 11 of the team's 35 assists.
• Sophomore Branden Stelmak (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) leads the Bearcats with two goals and five points. He scored the game-winner against Xavier in the season opener and tallied his second career goal against No. 7/5 Akron.
• UC has played four nationally-ranked teams this season, holding a 0-2-2 record in those matches. UC played No. RV/24 Loyola (Ill.) to a 0-0 draw at Gettler Stadium on Sept. 1 and also drew 0-0 at No. 20/17 Providence on Sept. 21.
• The Bearcats hit the road again for a BIG EAST contest at Villanova on Oct. 4. The Bearcats and Wildcats will kick off at 1 p.m. at the VU Soccer Complex.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE IRISH
Notre Dame (5-1-1, BE 2-0-1) is riding a six-game unbeaten streak ... the Fighting Irish posted back-to-back shutouts in BIG EAST play last weekend ... Notre Dame played No. 5 St. John's to a scoreless draw on Sept. 19 before defeating Syracuse, 3-0, on Sept. 21 ... the Irish are averaging 2.57 goals per game, while allowing 0.86 ... junior midfielder Dave Donohue has team-high totals in points (12) and assists (4) ... his four goals rank him in a tie for the team lead along with fellow junior midfielder Michael Thomas and senior forward Bright Dike ... senior goalkeeper Andrew Quinn has started all seven games ... he carries a 0.84 goals-against average and a .818 save percentage with three shutouts ... eight different players have scored a goal for Notre Dame this season ... head coach Bobby Clark is in his eighth season with the Irish ... he has a 99-39-21 record during his Notre Dame tenure.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Through its first six contests, Marquette has out-shot its opponents 79-53 and likewise leads the shots-on-goal margin 36-22 ... however, the opponents' seven goals is two more than the Golden Eagles have tallied ... the Golden Eagles have won just two BIG EAST matches over the last two seasons ... MU is led by Anthony Colaizzi, who has scored three goals and added an assist for seven points ... goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski has started all six matches for the Golden Eagles and posted two assists and a 1.06 goals against average ... head coach Louis Bennett is 4-30-7 in his third year at Marquette.

The Series
The Bearcats are unbeaten in the last three meetings against the Irish, with ND being the higher-ranked team in each match. Last season, the Bearcats played the No. 2-ranked Irish to a 1-1 draw at Alumni Field. The Bearcats are 2-0-1 against Notre Dame since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2005 season. UC and Marquette, former Conference USA and Great Midwest rivals, have met 25 times. Marquette leads the series, 12-10-3. The Bearcats had a two-match winning streak snapped against the Golden Eagles last season with a 2-1, double-overtime loss at Valley Fields.