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Senior forward Danielle Rotheram netted a goal for the University of Cincinnati in the 79th minute to defeat Providence, 1-0.
After a lax first half, the Bearcats upped their pressure in the second half to generate more offensive opportunities and rattle the Friars.
It wasn't until the 79th minute that Cincinnati broke through as Kelsey Parrinello dumped off a pass for Danielle Rotheram. The senior forward made a quick turn and blasted a shot into the upper corner of the goal to put UC up, 1-0.
Cincinnati outshot PC, 12-6, in the second half, but it was Natalie Smith who kept the Bearcats alive in the 64th minute. The redshirt junior recorded two of her five saves in succession with a pair of diving stops.
// GOAL SUMMARY
79', CIN - Danielle Rotheram (Kelsey Parrinello, Cassie Wheldon)
Cassie Wheldon passed the ball to Parrinello at the top of the box, where she dumped a pass off the Rotheram. The senior quickly turned a drove the ball into the upper corner of the goal.
// ADDITONAL SCORING CHANCES
8' - Danielle Rotheram intercepted an errant pass between the Friars' defenders and quickly peeled back her leg to launch a shot from 25 yards out. The senior's shot rocketed towards the upper right corner before Providence's goalkeeper batted the ball to the ground.
63' - Jaycie Brown played a great through ball to Laura Rose, who was making an open run into the box. Rose one-timed the ball with a quick chip over the keeper, but the ball bounced off the crossbar and then cleared by a PC defender.
// KEY SAVES
49' - Smith made a diving save to her right as a Providence forward struck a ball to the lower corner. After batting the ball away, the redshirt junior sprung up and raced to the ball before the Friars could gain possession for another shot.
64' - Smith made a pair of diving saves on back-to-back one-on-one opportunities for the Friars. The first was a sliding shot by PC, which Smith dove to her right to bat away. The rebound landed at the feet of another Providence player and was blasted towards goal. Smith flung her body to the ground to save the low shot attempt.
// GAME NOTES
- Cincinnati has allowed only two goals through the first four matches of the season, which UC hasn't done since 2010.
- With Sunday's win, the Bearcats remain undefeated under Neil Stafford when playing on Sundays at Gettler Stadium. UC is 11-0-1 over Stafford's three-year coaching span.
- The Bearcats have shutout their opponents in each of the last three matches. The last time they did that was in 2010 when they actually shutout four consecutive opponents.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats hit the road for the first time during the 2015 season. UC will first head to Boulder, Colorado, to take on Colorado on Friday, Sept. 4. They close out the road trip in Colorado Springs, Colorado, against Colorado College on Sunday, Sept. 6.