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CINCINNATI - Katy Couperus bagged a pair of goals, Julia Abbott scored her first collegiate goal and Natalie Smith posted another shutout as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer exploded for four goals to claim a 4-0 victory at Lipscomb Thursday night. The Bearcats, who improved to 6-2-1 on the year, handed the Bisons their first home loss of the year to drop LU to 6-2-1 as well.
The win for UC marked its largest margin of victory in 2016 and the most goals it scored since also netting four last year at home against Evansville (4-0, October 18, 2015). The victory also halted LU's four-match winning streak while also marking the first time in 2016 that the Bisons did not score a goal in a match.
"I'm really pleased for the players tonight," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "A four-nill result away, against a solid program with dangerous players, always makes the ride back to Cincinnati enjoyable. Well that, and us streaming the UC - Houston football game too. But, I thought we worked hard to create our goal scoring chances tonight and the players were rewarded for their efforts. We made Lipscomb make decisions defensively and took advantage of that. We may have gotten a nice bounce or two, but I think you create those opportunities by a work ethic.
"I was pleased with the contributions of the bench," Stafford continued. "Sydney Goins and Emma Dwenger did well; Julia Abbott made an instant impact scoring and drawing the penalty. Obviously, it's great to see Coup (Katy Couperus) scoring, but I think her teammates helped create those chances. Natalie Smith was excellent tonight and really gave the entire team confidence. Another highlight was having Jaycie Brown back on the field. She only saw a few minutes, but it was a huge lift for the program. Overall, it was a good team performance and we can go into Sunday against Youngstown State confident, but ready to improve even more."
// FIRST HALF
It was an offensive explosion for the Bearcats in the first half as UC found the back of the net three times on a Bison side that allowed just six total goals in its first eight matches (6-1-1) and equalled LU's entire home goals allowed total so far in 2016. UC, which had not scored more than one goal in the first half of a match all season, controlled much of the action with a heavy amount of time spent in the attacking third.
The scoring opened in the 24' of play as Abbott broke in behind several defenders, collected the loose ball and ripped a shot that was blocked by the defense. She immediately regained the ball and looked to move toward the center of the 18 yard box, but was tripped from behind in the area, sending UC to its third penalty kick of the season. From the spot, Katy Couperus stepped up and buried the ball into the lower left corner to stake the Bearcats to an early 1-0 lead.
Abbott was not done, however, as she opened her collegiate account in the 34' on a solid pair of plays by two rookies. First, the ball was sent in from distance with Kyleigh Dominguez giving chace and forcing the Bison keeper from her line to the top of the area. There, the two collided going for the ball, which squirted to the feet of Abbott, who coolly put the ball into the open net for the 2-0 lead.
UC was not done and kept the pressure up. After several shots, the ball came loose on the left side where Emma Dwenger pushed the ball down to the end line and tried to play the ball in, only to have it blocked back to her. She then played the ball to the top of the area where Julie Gavorski collected the pass, turned to her right and ripped a shot into the lower left side of the goal, pushing the Bearcats' scoring advantage to 3-0.
// SECOND HALF
The second got underway with the hosts looking to add some pressure of their own and accomplished that goal by drawing a penalty kick of their own in the 56'. After being drug down in the box, LU's Jade Abarca stepped up the spot and fired a shot, only to see if click off the right post and back into play to keep the Bearcats' shutout in tact. The woodwork helped out UC later in the match, too, as an LU shot found the cross bar in the 72', also carrying out of play to keep a zero in the Bisons score column.
UC was able to add another goal, this time in the 73' with Couperus snagging her second score of the match to push the advantage to 4-0 for the visitors. Off a corner kick, Tiffany Huber played the ball into the box with it deflecting off a defender and winding up at Couperus' feet, where she immediately sent a shot on goal and past the approaching Kate Mason, who subbed into the goal just minutes before. The brace for Couperus matched her single-game high for goals scored, equaling the two she tallied at Vanderbilt on August 29, 2014.
// CLEAN SHEET
For the third time this season, goalkeeper Natalie Smith and the defense prevented an opponent from scoring, this time shutting out the Bisons for the first time in 2016. Smith now has 14.3 career shut outs, moving her up fifth all-time in UC history. She posted five saves in the match, bringing her career total to 171, which is the ninth-best in school history, while her 24th career win ties her for fourth all-time.
// NOTES
• The win pushed the Bearcats to 6-2-1 on the season and 3-2-0 on the road... the win also snapped Lipscomb's four-match winning streak and handed the Bison their first home loss of the year, dropping them to 6-2-1 overall and 4-1-1 at home.
• With the penalty kick scored in the 24', the Bearcats are now 3-for-3 from the spot this year. Going back through the past 10 seasons (including 2016), UC was 3-for-4 in 2014 while only scoring once in four other seasons.
• The three goals scored in the first half marked the first time this year UC had multiple goals scored in the opening 45 minutes of play
• The four goals scored is a season-high for the Bearcats, surpassing the 3-2 win at Evansville earlier this year
• With her goal in the 34', Abbott became the fourth freshman to score this year and the fifth rookie to record at least one point
// UPCOMING
The Bearcats return home to Gettler Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. as Youngstown State pays a visit for UC's final non-conference action of the season.
// 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.