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CINCINNATI - Vanessa Gilles scored for the second time in as many matches as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team posted a 1-1 tie with visiting Duquesne Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium. Gilles, who had the winning goal Friday night, tallied her third score of the season as the Bearcats moved to 5-2-1 on the year while the visiting Dukes moved to 2-2-2 overall.
With the tie, the Bearcats remained undefeated at home in 2016 (3-0-1) and improved to 1-1-1 overall in overtime matches after defeating Dayton in the season opener and falling to Purdue on the road in overtime. The tie also is UC's first this season after posting five last year.
// FIRST HALF
The match opened with the Dukes driving immediately down the field and sending a soft shot toward the goal of Natalie Smith, who easily pulled in the save and sent the Bearcats on their way in the opposite direction. The Bearcats, similar to Friday night against Colorado College, looked to establish the pace and went on the attack. After several solid attempts on goal, the hosts broke through as Gilles tallied her team-leading third goal of the year. Following a foul on DU, Katy Couperus placed the ball down roughly 30 yards from goal and sent a pass into the six-yard box where Gilles slid in and redirected the ball into the side netting to break the deadlock.
Both teams traded shots throughout the remainder of the half with the Dukes holding a 6-4 advantage in shots at the break. Neither team earned a corner kick in the first half with Smith posting a pair of saves and her DU counterpart, Kyra Murphy, recording one.
// SECOND HALF
Much as the Dukes did in the first half, DU took the ball at the start of the period and moved quickly toward the goal, this time scoring a little over one minute into the second stanza to knot the match at 1-1. Coming down the right side, Katie O'Connor played a looping ball into the area where it bounced around before Linnea Faccenda tipped the ball to Ivana Kristic, who flicked the ball toward the goal only to have it deflected into the net by a UC defender for an own goal. From there, neither team was able to score, but both had several opportunities.
The waning minutes of regulation nearly saw the Bearcats return to their 'Cardiac Cat' ways, but were unable to finish. In the 87', Taylor Jackson controlled the ball through several defenders before leaving the ball off for a breaking Jordan Cotleur, who hit a shot that just missed high. One minute later, Cotleur was 18 yards away and sent a hard shot on goal, only to see it miss just wide to the left. DU had its own chance with under one minute to play with a hard shot from O'Conner being punched away by a diving Smith to force overtime.
// OVERTIME
In the extra sessions, neither team scored with the Bearcats controlling much of the action in their attacking third. The first overtime provided the best chances for UC, first with Couperus hitting a shot from 20-yards out that DU's Murphy had to save. Perhaps the best attempt, though, came in the 96' with Jackson and Cotleur looking to hook up once more. This time, Jackson slipped a pass across the front of the goal, but it was just a tad heavy as Cotleur could not stretch out to redirect the ball into the empty net.
Overall, Smith ended the match with four saves while Murphy halted six attempts for the visitors. After being out-shot in the first half, the Bearcats eventually came out on top, 19-10, and posted four corner kicks to DU's one.
// NOTES
• The win pushed the Bearcats to 5-2-1 on the season and 3-0-1 at home
• Since taking over the program for the 2013 season, the Bearcats are undefeated at home in Sunday matches under Neil Stafford, sitting at 14-0-2 following today's tie. In those 16 matches, UC has outscored its opponents, 38-10, in those Sunday matches
// UPCOMING
The Bearcats will be back in action at home on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest against visiting Duquesne. Fans are encouraged to Wear White to the match and stick around afterwards for autographs with the players.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can be followed on Facebook (GoBearcatsWSOC), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWSOC) and Instagram (GoBearcatsWSOC). Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) also can be followed on Twitter.
// EXPERIENCE UC
The University of Cincinnati department of athletics announced an initiative entitled Experience UC, geared toward inviting the community to campus to see firsthand the great things about and surrounding the university. Experience UC includes complimentary admission for patrons attending women's basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving and track and field home events.