Tickets
CINCINNATI - Julie Gavorski and Jordan Cotleur each scored once and goalkeeper Natalie Smith posted a season-high eight saves to help the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team record a 2-0 road victory at East Carolina Friday night in their opening American Athletic Conference match of 2016. The Bearcats, who are undefeated in their last six matches (5-0-1), improved to 8-2-1 on the year with a 1-0-0 mark in league play while the host Pirates slipped to 4-6-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the American.
"I am pleased with how we ground out a road win and kept a shut out," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "I am happy with the result, but I don't think we were as sharp as I am looking for. ECU played with great energy tonight and we didn't match that. But, at this stage in the season, the result is important for us. I am proud of the way the players ground out the win and I am proud of their mentality to get the win on the road, but we definitely have to improve as we get set to face a tough Tulsa and Memphis trip next weekend."
// FIRST HALF
The Bearcats came out aggressively to open the match, pushing the tempo and drawing four corner kicks in the opening eight minutes of play. The fourth of those attempts looked to be the best of the offerings as the ball was swung to the back post by Taylor Pavlika as she looked for a pair of Bearcats converging on the goal, only to see the ball snagged high out of the air by the ECU keeper.
After both teams took shots that were both blocked and saved by the opposing keepers, the Bearcats broke the deadlock in the 36' as Julie Gavorski tallied on a solid free kick. Before the kick, the Bearcats were charging down the field with Jaycie Brown playing the ball ahead before being tripped down. With play continuing, Julia Abbott took a turn at trying to collect the ball, only to be tripped up by the keeper, Caroline Jeffers. The keeper was whistled for the foul and booked on a yellow card with the foul taking place just outside the penalty area. On the ensuing free kick, Gavorski stepped up and deftly bent the ball over the top of the five-player wall and over the head of the keeper, finding the back of the netting for the fifth time this year.
ECU nearly pulled one back in the waning minutes of action with Annah Lindberg firing a shot from distance that took a weird hop in front of UC keeper Natalie Smith. With the ball spinning off to Smith's left, the Bearcat senior jumped that direction and tipped the ball away from the goal and collected the ball to keep the clean sheet in tact.
// SECOND HALF
Both teams looked to press the issue in the second half as both pushed the ball forward trying to find the next goal. ECU had several shots that put on goal with Smith holding her ground and making the saves when needed. In the 64', the hosts had a pair of strong chances that were thwarted by Smith, first on shot from the left side that she snared from the air before forcing an ECU player to push a shot wide of the net moments later. Then, one minute later, Smith was called upon once again as a shot came in from 25 yards out. With the ball bending in on the goal, Smith dove to her right and parried the ball out of bounds, keeping the score a 1-0 in favor of the Bearcats.
After several back and forth play, UC found a way to score once again. In the 79', Taylor Jackson carried the ball down the left flank and, upon reaching the touch line, chipped the ball toward the goal. From there, Cotleur timed her jump perfectly as she met the ball in the air before the keeper could arrive and headed the pass from Jackson into the net for a 2-0 lead. The goal is the second of the season and the second in as many matches for Cotleur while the assist is the first of the year for Jackson.
The rest of the way, both teams took turns shooting from distance. In the final 30 seconds of play, ECU had one final chance as Courtney Cash got into the box and half-volleyed a pass from near the penalty spot, only to see Smith once again collect the ball to save the shot and preserve the clean sheet for the Bearcats.
// CLEAN SHEET
For the fifth time this season and the third match in a row, goalkeeper Natalie Smith and the defense prevented an opponent from scoring, running its current total to 333:57 since the defense has allowed a goal (Duquesne scored at 46:03 in a 1-1 tie before the three shut outs). Smith recorded a season-high eight saves, bettering the six she tallied in the season-opener against Dayton, to move her record to 6-0-1 on the year. With the shutout, Smith continues to climb the career ledgers for keepers at UC as she moved up to fourth all-time with 16.2 shutouts, surpassing the 16.0 recorded by Andrea Kaminski (2006-09).
// NOTES
The win pushed the Bearcats to 8-2-1 on the season, 4-2-0 on the road and 1-0-0 in the conference.
The Bearcats are undefeated in their last six matches, posting a 5-0-1 mark, with the last three matches coming via shut out victories. In that six-match span, UC is out-scoring its opponents, 14-2, and have not allowed a goal in the last 333:57 of play dating back to Duquesne scoring the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at 46:03 in the match on September 11.
UC is now 6-1-1 all-time against the Pirates and have not allowed ECU to score in all three contests played as members of the American Athletic Conference. The last time the Pirates scored was a 2-1 overtime game-winning goal in Cincinnati during a match played on October 22, 2004, when both teams called Conference-USA home.
With the win, the Bearcats have won three in a row while keeping a clean sheet, accomplishing that feat for the second time in as many years. Last year, UC won at Houston (1-0) before posting wins at home against #18 USF (1-0) and UCF (2-0).
Julie Gavorski moved into a tie for seventh on the all-time game-winning goals scored list for UC, equaling the six winners tallied by Danielle Rotheram (2013-15) and Ann Thomas (1997-01).
With her start tonight, Kayla Utley moved into a tie for ninth all-time in career starts at UC, making her 74th appearance in the Starting XI. She is tied with Kim Sykes, who recorded 74 starts from 2005 to 2008.
// UPCOMING
The Bearcats are in the midst of a three-match road swing to open conference play and will next travel to Tulsa on Thursday, October 6, for a 7 p.m. local (8 p.m. ET) contest with the Golden Hurricane. It will be the first of two road matches next weekend as the road trip closes on Sunday, October 9, with a 1 p.m. local (2 p.m. ET) match at Memphis.
// 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.