TicketsOct. 8, 2009
The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team wraps up its five-game, midseason road swing by visiting Villanova and Georgetown the weekend of Oct. 9-11. The Bearcats visit the Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 9 in a 4 p.m. match and travel to Washington, D.C. to take on Georgetown in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 11.
UC is coming off a 1-0 victory at No. 12/17 St. John's on Sunday, Oct. 4. The Bearcats are unbeaten in two matches after tying Syracuse, 1-1, in double overtime on Friday, Oct. 2.
Currently 7-5-1, the Bearcats are having their best season since the 2002 squad (10-1-2 through 13 games) advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season as Conference USA Champions with and a 17-4-3 overall record. Cincinnati has an RPI ranking of 88 (out of 322) through the first 13 games of its season.
Cincinnati tied No. 21 Rutgers, 0-0 in double overtime last season, and finished with a 0-0 double overtime tie against No. 10 Charlotte on Oct. 25, 2002 but the 1-0 victory over No. 12/17 St. John's was Cincinnati's first win over a ranked team since Sept. 1, 2002 when the Bearcats defeated No. 12 Florida, 2-1.
Senior goalkeeper Andrea Kaminski (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) was named the BIG EAST Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 5. It was her second BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor this year as she also won the award on Sept. 21. Kaminski earned the honor following a 1-0-1 record when she totaled 18 saves and a shutout over 200 minutes and allowed just one goal. It is the fifth BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week award in her career, earning the weekly honor on Sept. 21, 2009, Oct. 13, 2008, Oct. 22, 2007 and Aug. 28, 2006.
Andrea Kaminski leads the BIG EAST with 81 saves and is ranked 16th nationally with her 0.88 save percentage. At St. John's, Kaminski earned her fourth shutout of the season and the 15th of her career, which ranks No. 5 in school history. She has 374 career saves, passing career-leader Laura Kerr (361 saves, 1987-90) and becoming UC's individual record holder in career saves.
Freshman Evi Ranson (Golden, Colo./Ralston Valley) scored her first career goal leading UC to a 1-0 win at No. 12/17 St. John's on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Belson Stadium. Ranson's goal came in the 40th minute after an assist from Lauren Lucas (Levittown, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and Sydney Barker (Roswell, Ga./Roswell) from a corner kick was knocked around in the box and found the head of Ranson, who beat Red Storm goalkeeper Kristin Russell.
UC played to a 1-1, double overtime tie at Syracuse in a rain-soaked match on Friday, Oct. 2 at SU Soccer Stadium. The Bearcats ended in a draw for the second time in as many contests against the Orange after a 0-0 tie in the first meeting between the two teams in 2006. Kendall Loggins (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) scored in the 10th minute to put UC on the scoreboard first. She took a feed from Erin MacDonald (St. Catharine's, Ont./West Park Secondary), recording her fourth goal of 2009. Syracuse responded with a goal of its own in the 44th minute, tying the game just before halftime.
Cincinnati lost, 1-0, in a BIG EAST Conference match at DePaul on Sunday, Sept. 27 at Wish Field. UC took one shot against the Blue Demons for the game. Andrea Kaminski had several crucial stops for the Bearcats in goal and finished with seven saves.
Andrea Kaminski made a season-high 13 saves and UC held No. 12/14 Notre Dame scoreless for 77 minutes in a hard-fought, 2-1 loss in BIG EAST Conference action on Friday, Sept. 25 at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats put the first point on the scoreboard when Emily Hebbeler (Park Hills, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) took a lob pass from Julie Morrissey (Abington, Mass./Tabor Academy) just two minutes after she entered the match and floated a goal past the Notre Dame goalkeeper at the 75:56 mark. Notre Dame responded with a goal less than two minutes later and got the game-winning goal with eight minutes left in the match. Notre Dame outshot UC, 24-4.
Erin MacDonald dribbled around the University of Akron goalkeeper and scored the game-winning goal to lead UC to a 2-1 non-conference win over the Zips at Gettler Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20. Akron jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but Emily Hebbeler shot a high ball into the far side of the goal off a corner kick with 24:40 remaining in the first period to tie the game. The Bearcats were outshot for the game, 14-13, including a 10-5 shot advantage by Akron in the second period, but MacDonald calmly struck the ball into the open net to give UC the win with 18:49 left in the game. It was the senior's first goal of 2009.
Sydney Barker headed in the game-winning goal leading UC to a 2-0 shutout victory over the University of Louisville in a BIG EAST match at Gettler Stadiumon Friday, Sept. 18. Cincinnati won its first BIG EAST season opener since joining the league and snapped a six-year losing streak against the Cardinals with the win. The game remained scoreless until the 49:05 mark in the second half when Barker headed in her first goal of 2009 off a corner kick from Melissa Bigg (Limehouse, Ont./Acton). UC sealed the win when Erin MacDonald struck a perfect cross from the right side to a streaking Kendall Loggins who hit the back of the net in stride with 72:24 on the clock.
Senior goalkeeper Andrea Kaminski was named the BIG EAST Conference Goalkeeper of the Week the league announced on Sept. 21. Kaminski earned the honor following a 2-0-0 week for the Bearcats. The senior totaled 19 saves, including a shutout in the two wins. In a 2-0 win over conference rival Louisville on Sept. 18, Kaminski made 11 saves and helped Cincinnati snap a six-year losing streak against the Cardinals. She also made eight saves in a rain-soaked, 2-1 win over Akron on Sept. 20.
Junior Sydney Barker, seniors Melissa Bigg, Andrea Kaminski and Erin MacDonald will serve as the 2009 team captains.
Julie Morrissey was named the BIG EAST Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 14) and was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week after her nine-point, four-goal effort in a 2-0-0 week for Cincinnati, scoring the game-winners in both games. In a 4-0 win over city rival Xavier on Sept. 10, she netted two goals, including one score in the 6th minute of the contest. She had two goals and an assist in a 3-2 win at Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 13, including the game-winner with three seconds left in regulation. Morrissey is the first Cincinnati women's soccer player to earn BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors since UC joined the league in 2005.
The last time Cincinnati played five or more road games to start the season came in 1986 when the Bearcats played their first seven games away from campus. Cincinnati finished the 1986 season 13-3-1 overall and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Michelle Salmon, now in her second season at UC, guided the Bearcats to their best season since 2002, finishing the 2008 slate with a 10-7-3 overall record and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Conference Championship.
Logan Ballinger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) suffered a season-ending injury in UC's match against South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 6, in the Courtyard by Marriott Airport Cardinal Classic. Ballinger, a junior defender, scored one goal and recorded an assist in 2009.
Two University of Cincinnati players were named to the 2009 Courtyard by Marriott Airport Cardinal Classic All-Tournament Team. Andrea Kaminski, who recorded 16 saves over the course of the tournament, and freshman defender Brooke Eberly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) were tabbed as all-tourney performers.
Logan Ballinger scored an unassisted goal in the 16th minute to lead Cincinnati to a 1-0 victory over Saint Louis on Sept. 4. Andrea Kaminski recorded seven saves and earned her 12th career shutout, moving into a tie for seventh place in UC's career record book for shutouts.
Emily Hebbeler was named to the Honor Roll in the first BIG EAST women's soccer weekly awards of 2009. Hebbeler became the first player since 2005 to contribute on UC's first two goals of a season (last, Kim Sykes, 2005, assist and goal) and the first UC player to score two goals in two games since Jenn Johannigman scored back-to-back goals against Wright State and Michigan in 2008.
Cincinnati returns home after a five-match road swing, taking on Marquette on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. and playing USF on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. The matches will be the first two of a four-game homestand for the Bearcats at Gettler Stadium.
QUICK LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats are coached by John Byford, who is in his second season as a head coach at Villanova and owns an 19-10-3 record at Villanova. Returning for the Wildcats are two forwards who combined for 37 points in 2008. Sophomore Katie Ryan totaled 20 points (8G, 4A), while senior forward Grace Hawkins totaled 17 points (8G, 1A). Through 13 games this season, Ryan leads the Wildcats with 20 points (8G, 4A). Senior Molly Williams is 7-3-2 in goal and has made 65 saves in 2009. Villanova is returning home after two BIG EAST road losses to Providence and Connecticut.
CINCINNATI-VILLANOVA SERIES
The Bearcats are 1-3-1 against Villanova, with the most recent meeting in 2008 ending in a 2-1 victory for UC. The UC win prevented the Wildcats from qualifying for the Big East Championship for the first time in eight seasons. It also marked the first victory in school history for UC over Villanova. The game, played in Cincinnati, was extremely physical with both teams being whistled for a total of 26 fouls, 15 of those belonging to UC. Prior to last season Villanova had won the last three matches played by a combined score of 4-1.
QUICK LOOK AT THE HOYAS
The Hoyas are coached by David Nolan, who is in his sixth season as a head coach at Georgetown and owns a 61-41-11 record at Georgetown. Last season the Hoyas posted a record of 13-4-2 including a school best record of 8-3 inside the Big East Conference. Returning for the Hoyas is sophomore forward Samantha Baker, who last season totaled a team high 26 points (8G, 10A). Redshirt sophomore Ingrid Wells is leading GU this season from midfield with a total of 18 points (5G, 8A) and junior Jackie DesJardin is 7-3-2 in goal for the Hoyas, saving 45.
CINCINNATI-GEORGETOWN SERIES
The Bearcats are 1-3-0 against Georgetown, with the most recent meeting in 2008 ending in a 1-0 defeat for UC. The game, which lasted two overtimes, was won in the 107th minute off a header by Michaela Buonomo, and was the first win for Georgetown at Cincinnati. The series began in 2005 with Georgetown winning the match at home, 4-0. However the following year at Cincinnati, the Bearcats were able to even the series with a 1-0 victory, before falling at Georgetown in 2007 by a score of 5-0.