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Bearcats Hit the Road to Take on No. 6/7 Bulls

Bearcats Hit the Road to Take on No. 6/7 BullsBearcats Hit the Road to Take on No. 6/7 Bulls

Oct. 2, 2009

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STORY LINES

  • The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team will travel to Tampa, Fla., to take on No. 6/7 USF on Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff from the USF Soccer Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.
  • USF is the fourth ranked opponent the Bearcats will take on in 2009. UC won at No. 18 Dayton, 5-2, in the season opener, dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 1/1 Akron, and claimed a 1-0 victory at No. 21 Notre Dame.
  • UC's 1-0 win vs. Notre Dame on Sept. 27 was televised live on CBS College Sports Network. UC's last televised match came at St. John's on Halloween night in 2008. The Bearcats fell, 2-0, to the Red Storm.
  • Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his ninth season at Cincinnati and 19th season as a head coach overall. Dayes is 175-151-41 overall and 79-66-21 at UC. With the win against Dayton in the 2009 season opener, 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 3-0 win over Western Illinois pushed the Bearcats' record to 4-0-0 for the first time since 1989, when the Bearcats finished with a school-record 14 wins (14-4-1).
  • UC has scored 19 goals in the first 10 matches of the season after tallying just 13 scores in 19 matches in 2008.
  • Junior forward Branden Stelmak (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) took home two awards in the season's opening 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 scored three goals in the first three matches and is tied for the team lead with three goals.
  • Redshirt freshman defender Kit North (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Sept. 7. North, who scored his first career goal in his first career appearance against Dayton on Sept. 1, helped lead the defense to consecutive shutouts.
  • Miguel Rosales (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) posted three shutouts in his first four appearances of the season. He moved ahead of teammate Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) and into a tie for seventh in school annals with his 11th career shutout against Pittsburgh. Williams pulled even with his 11th career shutout at Notre Dame.
  • The Bearcats return 10 starters from last year's squad, including leading scorer Branden Stelmak 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, 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 tallied a goal and three assists in UC's season-opening 5-2 win at No. 18 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.
  • Weightman is No. 1 in the NCAA in single-game assists with three vs. Dayton on Sept. 1.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Sophomore Matt Bahner scored on a header in the 93rd minute to lead the University of Cincinnati men's soccer team to a 2-1 overtime win against crosstown rival Xavier on Sept. 30 in Gettler Stadium.
  • The Bearcats (7-3-0) outshot the Musketeers, 28-6, and had plenty of chances, but fell behind early in the second half after a scoreless first half. In the 54th minute, Xavier's Andy Dimbi sent a corner kick into the box, where it met the head of Luke Spencer and beat UC goalkeeper Matt Williams for a 1-0 lead.
  • Senior Judson McKinney, wearing the captain's armband, scored with 3:47 left to knot it at 1-1. After taking a drop pass from Branden Stelmak, McKinney blasted a low drive from 25 yards out that beat Xavier goalkeeper Andre Bezerra.
  • Three minutes into extra time, Mark Konitsch carried the ball into the Xavier zone and into the near corner. He sent a perfect cross into the box where Bahner's diving header - his first goal of the season - provided the winning tally.
  • UC has now five straight against Xavier (1-5-1) and is 25-8-5 all-time against the Musketeers and 7-1-1 under Dayes.

UP NEXT

  • The Bearcats return to Gettler Stadium for a BIG EAST tilt with longtime rival DePaul on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.