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Bearcats Welcome Western Illinois, No. 1/1 Akron for Inaugural adidas Bearcat Classic

Bearcats Welcome Western Illinois, No. 1/1 Akron for Inaugural adidas Bearcat ClassicBearcats Welcome Western Illinois, No. 1/1 Akron for Inaugural adidas Bearcat Classic

Sept. 10, 2009

Game Notes | Tournament Central | Listen Live | |

STORY LINES

  • The University of Cincinnati hosts the inaugural adidas Bearcat Classic on Sept. 11 and Sept. 13 in Gettler Stadium. The four-team invitational will feature the Bearcats, No. 1/1 Akron, High Point, and Western Illinois. UC will take on Western Illinois on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. following the opener pitting Akron against High Point. On Sunday, Sept. 13, the Bearcats will square off with the top-ranked Zips at 3:30 p.m., following the High Point-Western Illinois match.
  • The Bearcats host the nation's No. 1-ranked team for the first time since welcoming No. 1 Connecticut on Sept. 16, 2005. A pair of goals by current Major League Soccer standout Omar Cummings led UC to a 2-0 upset win.
  • Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his ninth season at Cincinnati and 19th season as a head coach overall. Dayes is 171-148-41 overall and 75-63-21 at UC. With the win against Dayton, Dayes moved past Jim McDowell into sole possession of second place in coaching wins in program history. Bob Muro is the program's winningest head coach at 114-111-13.
  • After a 5-2 victory over No. 18 Dayton on Sept. 1, UC defeated Canisius 5-0. It marked the first time the Bearcats have scored five or more goals in back-to-back matches since the 1983 season. UC defeated Virginia Tech, 10-2, before falling at Bellarmine by a 7-6 count.
  • A 2-0 win over Wright State pushed the Bearcats record to 3-0-0 for the first time since 1998, when the Bearcats finished 11-5-3 and made the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • UC has scored 12 goals in the first three matches of the season after tallying just 13 scores in 19 matches in 2008.
  • Junior forward Branden Stelmak took home two awards this week, being named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Monday, Sept. 7, and being named to the Collegesoccernews.com National Team of the Week. Stelmak has scored three goals through three matches and is tied for the team lead with seven points (3 G, 1 A).
  • Redshirt freshman defender Kit North was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Sept. 7. North, who scored his first career goal in his first career appearance, has helped lead the defense to consecutive shutouts.
  • Miguel Rosales (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) posted a pair of shutouts over the weekend, making three saves in wins against Canisius and Wright State. He moved ahead of teammate Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) and into a tie for eighth in school annals with his 10th career shutout.
  • The Bearcats return 10 starters from last year's squad, including leading scorer Branden Stelmak (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) and goalkeeper Matt Williams, who posted nine shutouts a season ago.
  • The Bearcats have experience in goal as Williams - the 2008 starter - and Miguel Rosales (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill), who started all but one match in 2007, return this season.
  • Williams posted his second career assist from his goalkeeper position against Dayton. He cleared a Dayton crossing pass out of his own end and onto the foot of Nick Weightman (Lanark, Scotland/Webber International), who scored his second career goal on the breakaway.
  • UC is looking for its fifth consecutive trip to the BIG EAST Tournament. The Bearcats have qualified for the conference tourney in each of the first four years of affiliation with the powerful soccer league. UC won the school's first BIG EAST regular season title in 2006.

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

  • Junior Nick Weightman (Lanark, Scotland/Webber International) tallied a goal and three assists in UC's season-opening 5-2 win at Dayton on Sept. 1. The Scotland native surpassed his 2008 production in one game (2008: 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 points).
  • Weightman became the first Bearcat to record three assists in a match since current MLS star Omar Cummings posted three helpers against Louisville on Sept. 26, 2006.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Branden Stelmak scored five minutes into the game and UC blew past Canisius 5-0 on September 4 in Gettler Stadium. Junior college transfer Tristan Watson scored his first two goals in a three and a half minute span, after checking in at the 24th minute.
  • Branden Stelmak scored a pair of goals and Nick Weightman scored a goal and added three assists to lead UC to a 5-2 win over No. 18 Dayton on Sept. 1 at Baujan Field.
  • The Bearcats snapped Dayton's 20-match home winning streak and scored five goals in a match for the first time since a 5-0 win against Louisville on Oct. 31, 2004, in Gettler Stadium.
  • Redshirt freshman defender Kit North (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson), making his first career appearance, scored in the eighth minute on a header off a corner kick.
  • UC also got a goal from sophomore D.J. Albert (Park City, Ill.) in the 64th minute before Stelmak's second of the match closed the scoring.

UP NEXT

  • The Bearcats will open BIG EAST play at home against Pittsburgh and West Virginia next weekend. UC and Pitt will kick off at 5 p.m. on Sept. 18, while the Bearcats and Mountaineers will square off at 1 p.m. on Sept. 20.