TicketsNov. 2, 2010
By Dave Malaska
GoBEARCATS.com
By the time the Bearcats take the field in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship, most of its participants will already be watching from home. After two years of waiting and watching themselves, that's probably alright with the Bearcats -- another few days on the sidelines watching half of the tournament's field being eliminated probably won't bother Hylton Dayes and his team.
The Bearcats (7-4-6 overall, 5-1-3 BIG EAST), who earned the second seed out of the conference's Red Division for the tournament and the first-round bye that comes with it, will play host to the winner of Thursday's DePaul-UConn match on Sunday. While most of the tournament field opens play Wednesday night, the Blue Demons and Huskies are playing a day later because of a scheduling conflict, the league office said.
And that, in turn, pushed Cincinnati's quarterfinal debut in the tourney back to Sunday, exactly two years and one day after the Bearcats last played in the tournament. That time around, as the last team into the tournament field, UC dropped a 3-1 decision to Georgetown.
This time around, the first round bye and a little extra time to watch the rest of the field decimate itself isn't the only reason for UC fans to be optimistic for a run to the finals in Harrison, N.J. The Bearcats have home field advantage into the semifinals.
In a tournament where home field advantage isn't always everything it's cracked up to be -- the visitors have won 12 of 40 tournament games on campus sites since 2005 (quite high when you consider they're always the lower-ranked team). Additionally, the hosts advanced four times only because they prevailed on penalty kicks.
But the Bearcats have been strong in Gettler Stadium. This season, they're 5-1-3 at home, the lone loss to No. 1-ranked Louisville on Oct. 13 snapping a 13-match unbeaten streak on their home turf.
Just don't expect Dayes to be taking anything for granted.
"It'll be nice for the guys to be able to play in front of our fans, but I'm not sure there's such a thing as home field advantage in the tournament," says the coach. "At least, we haven't seen much of it over the past few years."
Dayes points out that UC's had mixed results as the home favorite, and as the road spoiler in the tournament. In 2005, as a three-seed, the Bearcats dropped a 2-1 decision to Providence in the BIG EAST Tournament. The following year, as a No.1 seed, the Friars got the better of the host Bearcats again, leaving Gettler with a 2-0 win under their belts. But Cincinnati returned the favor in 2007, taking the 2-0 win as the Friars' guest.
"So, we're focusing on the game, not the fact that we'll be playing at home," adds Dayes.
But who will they be playing? Tune in Thursday.
The Bearcats didn't play UConn (11-2-4, 5-1-3 BIG EAST) this season, but the Blue Division's three-seed could be a tough match-up for the Bearcats. The Blue Demons (4-9-5, 1-5-3 BIG EAST), who just made the tournament field as the final invitee from the Red Division, just hosted UC last week. The teams finished locked in a 1-1 tie.