Bearcats Welcome Villanova For Key BIG EAST Tilt

Oct. 9, 2009

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STORY LINES

• The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team faces a pivotal match in the race for a berth in the BIG EAST Championship on Saturday night, Oct. 10, when Villanova comes to Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats and Wildcats are set to kick off at 7 p.m.
• UC is currently seventh in the Red Division, sitting on six points. Villanova is third with 10 points. The top six teams in the division earn berths in the 2009 BIG EAST Championship.
• UC is hosting Alumni Night vs. Villanova . This special event will be highlighted by a tribute to former soccer player Ryan McGregor who tragically passed away at the age of 31 this July. McGregor was a 1998 Communications graduate and member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He played in 44 games as a defender, earning three letters and tallying one career goal. In honor of Ryan, the University of Cincinnati Men's Soccer team will donate $4.00 from every $5.00 ticket sold to the Ryan McGregor Support Fund. Tickets will be available at the gate and will be CASH only.
• If you are interested in donating to the support fund but unable to attend the game, please send donations to:
  Ryan McGregor Support Fund c/o Tim Egloff
  5883 Yankee Road
  Liberty Township, OH 45044
• UC's 2-0 loss at No. 6/7 USF on Oct. 3 was the second against a Top 10-ranked team this season. UC also dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 1/1 Akron on Sept. 13 in the finale of the adidas Bearcat Classic.
• 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 175-153-41 overall and 79-68-21 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 20 goals in the first 12 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, four assists, and 10 points.
• 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

• UC dropped a 2-1 overtime contest to BIG EAST foe DePaul on Oct. 7 at Gettler Stadium.
• The Bearcats (7-5-0, 2-4-0 BIG EAST) got on the board first just before halftime as Matt Bahner headed home his second goal of the season off a beautiful service from Sam Klosterman, giving UC a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
• UC's lead was short-lived, however, as DePaul (6-5-0, 3-3-0) leveled the match just 10 minutes into the second half. A failed clearance by the Bearcats defense allowed DPU's Alex Mangan, who had just entered the match as a sub, sneak into the goal box and place a shot to the far post past UC keeper Matt Williams, knotting the score at 1-1 in the 56th minute.
• Just 1:31 into overtime, DePaul got the game-winner. Steffen Vroom intercepted a pass at midfield, dribbled down the right flank evading defenders, and struck a left-footed shot near post past Williams for his fifth goal of the season.
• The Bearcats have lost three straight to the Blue Demons and snapped a five-match unbeaten streak against DePaul in Gettler Stadium.