TicketsAug. 27, 2010
CINCINNATI - The Univeristy of Cincinnati men's soccer team wrapped up its exhibition play with a 3-0 win against Cleveland State on Friday (Aug. 27) night in Gettler Stadium.
"It's always encouraging when you score three goals," said head coach Hylton Dayes. "I thought we were much more dangerous in attack tonight than we were in our previous two exhibition matches. We were able to get the ball wide and allow our wide midfielders to go one-on-one."
Mark Konitsch (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence Senior) got the Bearcats on the board in the 27th minute when he intercepted a pass in stride and fired a low drive past a sprawling Brad Stuver.
The Bearcats carried play through the first half, holding a 9-5 edge in shots and creating the majority of scoring chances.
UC put the match away in a four-minute span in the second half. In the 73rd minute, Matt Bahner (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) gathered a loose ball at the midfield stripe and dribbled past a defender into the 18-yard box. His right-footed blast beat Stuver low to the left for a 2-0 lead.
Just four minutes later, UC earned a corner kick, taken by Shamar Shelton (Kingston, Jamaica/Lindsey Wilson). Shelton bent the left-footed cross into the box, forcing a clearance attempt by Cleveland State. The ball deflected off the defense for an own goal and a 3-0 lead that the UC defense would not relinquish.
"We worked on pressuring the ball more effectively and being more organized defensively in training this week," Dayes continued. "We were able to limit the number of shots and chances by Cleveland State. In fact I think their first shot was late in the first half. Overall, it was a good defensive effort by the entire team to get the shutout."
Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) made five saves in recording the clean sheet in his first action of the preseason.
UC possessed a 16-7 edge in shots and managed to get half of its tries (eight) on frame.
The Bearcats will open the regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 1, against I-75 rival Dayton at 7 p.m. in Gettler Stadium. Tickets are just $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under and $1 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. Call 1-877-CATS-TIX for more information, including season-ticket packages.