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Redshirt junior Natalie Smith recorded 10 saves in the University of Cincinnati's 1-0 upset of No. 18 USF on Friday afternoon at Gettler Stadium. The victory extends the Bearcats' unbeaten streak to eight consecutive matches.
After a back and forth first half, sophomore Jaycie Brown broke free down midfield to start a UC counter. As the Wellington, Ohio, native approached the box, she diced to the right and chipped a shot over the USF goalkeeper to put the Bearcats up 1-0 in the 45th minute.
With the lead, the Bearcats (7-2-4, 2-0-1 American) relied on their defense to garner the win with the Bulls (9-2-1, 2-1-0 American) recording 11 shots to UC's two.
Smith was huge in net for Cincinnati as she tallied 10 saves to notch her fourth shutout of the season.
// GOAL SCORING SUMMARY
45' - CIN - On a defensive clear by the Bearcats, Brown corralled the ball at midfield without a defender on her and dribbled towards goal. As she approached, she diced to the right and sent a long chip over the USF goalkeeper from the 18 that landed into the far corner of the net.
// KEY SAVES
43' - On a cross off a corner, the ball was dummied by a USF player and rolled to the far post. A Bulls player was waiting by the back post for strike, but a diving Natalie Smith batted the low shot away.
48' - A USF corner got through the scrum at the front of the box and found the foot of Alexis Rossi on the backside. The defender drilled a ball towards the center of the goal, but Smith swatted the shot attempt to the ground before burying it in her arms.
59' - Smith made back-to-back saves with a diving save in a one-on-one situation against Olivia Chance, one of the top scorers in the conference. Chance garnered the rebound and sent a cross into the box for another USF shot, but the UC goalkeeper again was up to the task as she threw her body to the ground to block the attempt.
// MATCH NOTES
- The Bearcats defeated a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since Aug. 29, 2010, at No. 20 Wisconsin, 1-0.
- Cincinnati extends their unbeaten streak to eight consecutive matches for the first time since 2002 when UC rattled off 12 straight.
- Smith's 10 saves were the second most in her career after tallying 11 against UConn on Oct. 17, 2013.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats closeout the weekend against back-to-back American Athletic Conference regular season champion UCF on Sunday at 1 p.m.