TicketsOct. 2, 2010
Postgame Interview with Coach Dayes
CINCINNATI - Freshman defender Alex Hadley (Dayton, Ohio/Carroll) scored the game-winning goal and the University of Cincinnati men's soccer team defeated Rutgers, 2-0, on Saturday (Oct. 2) night in Gettler Stadium.
The Bearcats (4-2-3, 2-0-0 BIG EAST) improved to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007 and recorded their sixth shutout through nine matches this season. UC also extended a scoreless streak for its opponents to 367 minutes, having last conceded a goal in the 13th minute at No. 1/1 Akron on Sept. 19.
UC controlled play throughout the match, producing the first of several quality chances in the 15th minute when Matt Bahner (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) took a through ball and tried to slide a shot through the legs of Rutgers keeper Adam Klink. Klink got a leg on it, but it deflected through to Mark Konitsch (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence Senior), who missed an open net by inches with a volley that sailed right.
In the 34th, a failed clearance by Rutgers (3-4-1, 0-2-0) was intercepted by Hadley. He took a touch and blasted a shot from the right corner of the 18-yard box off the outstretched fingertips of a sprawling Klink and into the upper left corner of the net for his first collegiate goal.
UC took the 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Bearcats put the match away in the 68th minute. A Sam Klosterman (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) throw-in came to Nick Weightman (Lanark, Scotland/St. Aidans), who flicked a back-heel pass back to Klosterman. Klosterman's left-footed service picked out forward Tristan Watson (Brampton, Ontario/Lakeland C.C.), who redirected a header past Klink for his first goal of the season.
With a two-goal cushion, the Bearcats defense, which entered the week ranked No. 7 in the nation in goals-against average, settled in and posted their third straight shutout. Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) made three saves to post his sixth shutout of the season and the 17th clean sheet of his career. He lowered his goals-against average to 0.31 on the campaign.
The Bearcats will wrap up non-conference play with a trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the Wolverines of Michigan at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.