TicketsAug. 30, 2012
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team dropped its 2012 home opener, 1-0, to St. Francis (Pa.) on Thursday (Aug. 30) in Gettler Stadium.
The Bearcats (1-2-0) fell behind in the 21st minute. After a foul gave the Red Flash (1-0-1) a free kick 30 yards from goal, Nick Kolarac sent a knuckling, dipping shot past the UC wall and off the hands of goalkeeper Taylor Hafling for the 1-0 lead.
The Bearcats pushed forward through the rest of the first half and had two goals called off in the final minutes of the stanza. In the 44th minute, UC's best chance came off a cross from the right flank to an unmarked Matt Bahner just inside the 18-yard box. His shot rifled off the post and was cleared out of harm's way.
The match went to halftime at 1-0.
The Bearcats chased the game for the majority of the second half, creating dangerous crosses and getting into the heart of the Red Flash defense. UC was unable to link up the attacks and had another goal called off due to an offside violation.
"I thought the energy was good from our guys," said Dayes. "I thought we really created some chances and maybe were a little unfortunate not to score a goal. We threw everything we had at them, but we just couldn't seem to get the ball in the net."
Hafling made two saves on the evening.
St. Francis nearly made it 2-0 in the 78th minute when a shot from Wayne Tiller, who was dangerous on the offensive side of the ball all night, hit the post and caromed across the face of the goal before being cleared.
A last ditch effort in the final minutes saw Bahner and Zach Patterson with chances that went begging.
The Bearcats travel across town for the annual rivalry match against No. 22 Xavier on Sunday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the XU Soccer Complex.