TicketsSept. 28, 2010
By Dave Malaska
GoBEARCATS.com
A third of the way through the season, it's been a frustrating year for the UC's offense -- but with two goals in Saturday's win against Georgetown, there's a feeling that the Bearcats may finally have turned the corner.
The Bearcats (3-2-2) opened their BIG EAST season with the 2-0 win, the first time they've been able to register a multi-goal match in a season that had gone by with only five Bearcat goals in their first six games. This, despite out-shooting opponents by almost 20 shots during the same span.
Following the win, at Monday's practice, the atmosphere was significantly looser than anytime in recent memory.
"That's what winning will do for you," quipped UC head coach Hylton Dayes.
Against the Hoyas, junior Matt Bahner tallied his fourth goal of the season, while senior Nick Weightman added his first of the year, becoming the first Bearcat other than Bahner to dent the net. During the five-game drought to open the season, Dayes continued to say that as his team racked up so many scoring opportunities, eventually, the scoring would come. The Georgetown win, he hopes, was that turning point.
"We kept telling the guys that if we kept up our attack, it was going to happen," Dayes said.
As opposed to last season, when the Bearcats scored 25 goals -- almost doubling their 2008 output -- this edition of UC's offense plays a different game, one which the coach has plenty of confidence in. Last year, he says, the Bearcats depended on hitting the ball long; banking on the opportunities their speed could create. This year, his squad is more prone to working the ball around the midfield, looking for lapses in opposing defenses.
"We are much more balanced," says Dayes. "We're committed to keeping the ball a little more, not being so one-dimensional. It allows us to attack teams in different ways, rather than depending on the long-ball. We can still go over the top and play it that way; we have a lot more options open to us."
Unlike in the past, he adds, when teams could take away the deep threat by placing extra midfielders in the lineup, opponents are finding UC much tougher to defend.
So far this season, opponents have tried a few different tacks -- playing the extra midfielder to help out in the middle, or doubling-up defensively on the Bearcats' outside tandem of Bahner and Mark Konitsch. Still, UC is one pace for a 220-shot season, matching its highest output of recent seasons.
Meanwhile, the UC defense continues its clamp-down on opposing offenses. Heading into Wednesday night's game with Xavier, the Bearcats have earned shutouts in four of their seven matches, a mark that has them ranked in the top five among NCAA teams, and own a goals-against average of 0.40, good for a second-place tie among fellow BIG EAST teams. They've also held opponents to one of the lowest shot totals in the country.
XAVIER RIVALRY
With the BIG EAST season barely started, UC will step out of conference play for Wednesday night's 7 p.m. match-up at longtime rival Xavier -- though it's debatable how much of a rivalry it's been. Cincinnati has won 25 of the 38 match-ups to date, while the teams have tied five times. The Bearcats have also won the last five meetings.
"It has a special dynamic, with Xavier being only five miles away," explains Dayes. "So, it is a rivalry, no matter what the scores have been in the past. The guys all know each other, and they see each other all the time. There are definitely bragging rights."
This year's match-up could be tighter than most.
While UC's defense has been stellar this season, so, too, has the Musketeers'. XU (1-2-2) has allowed only two goals in their five matches to date, with three shutouts. They also have a goals-against average (0.37) slightly better than UC's.