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INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team defeated the IUPUI Jaguars, 3-0, on Wednesday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
With the win, UC improves to 7-4-1 overall including 5-3-1 in nonconference action. IUPUI falls to 1-11-0 on the season. The Bearcats are unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches and are 3-1-1 in their last five.
Looking to rebound from a 5-0 loss at No. 18 UConn on Saturday, the Bearcats did just that in their final road nonconference match of the season. UC put pressure on the Jaguars early with a goal in the 10th minute by freshman Aerin West (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) in a corner kick situation. The Bearcats added some cushion minutes later with a score by sophomore Adam Wilson (Auchterarder, Scotland/Dollar Academy) from distance. UC padded the score late in the second half when redshirt freshman Ryan Melink (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) attacked the airborne ball with a header score to give the Bearcats a 3-0 bounce-back win.
// GOAL SCORING SUMMARY
10' - CIN Aerin West (Adam Wilson, Ryan Melink)
Wilson sent a corner kick into the box where Ryan Melink went up and challenged for the ball with a header. Melink fell and kicked the ball back to Aerin West who booted it from just in front of the net for the score.
22' - CIN Adam Wilson (Daniel Oginni)
Freshman Daniel Oginni (Mississauga, Ontario/King's Christian Collegiate) won the ball in IUPUI territory and kicked it to the trailing Wilson who fired a shot from about 21 yards out that ricocheted off the right post and past the goalkeeper for the Bearcats second score of the night.
83' - CIN Ryan Melink (Adam Wilson)
Wilson fielded the ball on the near side and floated a cross into the box where Melink charged and headed the ball home for UC's third and final goal of the match
// BEARCATS SCORING CHANCES
- Melink broke away and fired a shot inside the box that was saved in the fifth minute. A corner kick from Wilson followed in which senior Jonny Williams (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland/IUPUI) turned into a shot on goal that was saved.
- Senior Nick Melville (Portland, Maine/Cheverus/Iowa Western) fired a shot from outside the box that was saved in the 58th minute.
- In the 81st minute, freshman David Sanz (Santander, Spain/IE La Marina) sent a corner kick into the box where sophomore Mohamed Elmardi (Liberty Township, Ohio/Lakota East) had his header attempt saved and Melink's rebound and shot hit off the near post.
// MATCH NOTES
- The all-time series between the two teams moves to 6-2-0 in favor of UC with the Bearcats winning the last two matchups and improving to 2-2 in matches played at IUPUI.
- West and Wilson each scored their third goals of the season. Melink scored his fourth goal of the year and leads the team in the category.
- Redshirt junior Pedro Diaz (Mason, Ohio/Mason) had four saves on the night and recorded his sixth shutout of the season.
- Wilson dished out his seventh and eighth assists of the season. The sophomore entered Wednesday's match ninth in the country and first in the American Athletic Conference in total assists.
- Oginni posted his second assist of the year. His first assist came at Memphis on Sept. 24.
- At just over the midway point of this season, the Bearcats have already matched their win total from last year of seven.
- Playing against his former team, Jonny Williams made his first start of the season.
// COMMENTS FROM COACH DAYES
"Overall, I was pleased with our play tonight," said head coach Hylton Dayes. "It's never easy to play on the road so we are satisfied with the win. Credit to our guys for bouncing back in a positive way after the UConn match."
"I was pleased with our passing and possession tonight. I thought we kept the ball well and created some quality chances in the run of play. The two first half goals were very important because it allowed us to play with the lead and forced IUPUI to chase the game. Aerin's goal off the corner kick was something we worked on in training and both Adam and Ryan finished their chances well. The clean sheet was also important and something that we talked about prior to the match tightening things up defensively."
"We now head back home to recover and prepare for a good Temple team on Saturday. They have one of the leading scores in the country and are very organized defensively."
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will return home Saturday, Oct. 15, when they welcome the Temple Owls to Gettler Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The match will feature a YMCA Day promotion as well as fans having the opportunity to get autographs of the Bearcats following the match as part of Signature Saturday. Concession specials will include $1 hot dogs and $1 hot chocolate. Admission will complimentary, as it is all season long, as part of the Experience UC initiative. Fans unable to attend the match can stream it through BearcatsTV. A subscription is required to watch.