Tickets
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team continued to battle to the end, but a 26-10 shot differential was not enough as visiting #19 UConn scored once in each half to hand the Bearcats a 2-0 defeat Thursday night at Gettler Stadium in front of 869 fans. The loss, which snapped the Bearcats' four-match undefeated streak, dropped the hosts to 10-5-3 overall and 3-3-2 in the American Athletic Conference while the Huskies, undefeated in their last 11 matches, improved to 15-2-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the league.
// FIRST HALF
The Bearcats opened the match with the first shot as Jordan Cotleur fired one of her team and match-high five shots, seeing it saved by Emily Armstrong, who ended the match with 10 saves. From there, UConn took possession of the ball and drove down the pitch to tally the first goal of the match in the 5'. Heidi Druehl brought the ball in on the wing and played the ball to the NCAA scoring leader, Stephanie Ribeiro, who headed the ball on the goal. The ball was tipped enough by UC keeper Natalie Smith to redirect the ball, but not enough for the save as the shot rolled in for Ribeiro's 17th goal of the season.
The Bearcats looked to counter the rest of the half and held a good bit of possession in the half, but were unable to cash in on their chances. In the 17', Katy Couperus found a bit of open space and sent a shot screaming toward the goal, but it tailed off and missed to the right. Four minutes later, the Bearcats had a good look on a free kick as Julie Gavorski put a shot in on goal only to see it miss to the left.
Two more solid strikes came from UC in the 24' and 30'. In the first shot, Jaycie Brown weaved through traffic and left the ball at the feet of Couperus to stepped into a shot from 25 yards out, but the shot went high over the cross bar. In the 30', the Bearcats had their best chance as Taylor Pavlika played a free kick in with Cotleur redirecting the ball on goal only to see Armstrong get a finger on the shot and tip the ball away for a save and 1-0 UConn lead at the break.
// SECOND HALF
The second half saw the Bearcats come out on fire, controlling much of the action and again taking aim at the goal. In the 51', off a corner kick, the Bearcats looked to have pulled even on the scoreboard as Pavlika's pass was headed on by Vanessa Gilles and, with the ball in the air, Cotleur leaping to get a touch on the ball that wound up in the back of the net. But, the referee deemed UC had fouled the UConn keeper and waived off the score, leaving the Bearcats still trailing, 1-0.
The momentum that UC was building looked to pay off in the 57' of play as Brown was once again dribbling through traffic and was dragged down from behind in the box. But, the referee spotted the foul and subsequent free kick just outside of the box, leaving UC with a 19-yard free kick instead of a penalty kick. On that free kick, Gavorski stepped up and hammered a shot that went just over the cross bar.
Brown then took over as her speed and quick handling of the ball saw her level two shots in a four minute stretch. In the 57', she stole the ball and weaved through traffic again, this time pulling up from 20 yards out to send a shot just wide of the target. Then, in the 61', she took a shot at the edge of the box that was blocked by the UConn defense.
In the 70' and with the Bearcats pressing for an equalizer, the Huskies struck for the second time, this time with Rachel Hill tallying. The Huskies gained possession of the ball and immediately drove down the pitch. After a pass to the middle, Hill collected the ball and drove in on goal and flicked a shot over a sliding Smith who again looked to have tipped the ball, this time deflecting it off the post before it kicked in to the goal for her 13th goal of the year.
In the 72', UC was back on the attack and had a free kick opportunity outside the box following a yellow card on UConn, but Couperus' shot went high. In the 78', UConn nearly tacked another goal on in transition off a shot from UC, this time with Ribeiro driving deep into the UC defense and sending a shot on goal. But, with the Husky moving in, Smith cut the angle and got her hand on the ball, knocking it down and falling on it to keep UC in the match.
In the 85', Pavlika held the ball on the right flank and lifted a pass into the center of the box that eventually found its way over Armstrong, but the UConn keeper recovered and was able to pull the ball out of the air before UC could get a head on the ball for a shot. Gavorski had one final chance for the Bearcats in the 90' as UC earned another free kick outside the box. Gavorski took aim at the goal and sent the ball through the wall, seeing it deflected toward the lower corner of the goal, but Armstrong was able to make a diving save to keep the hosts off the scoreboard for the 2-0 final.
// CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS
Sunday will be big for many of the teams in the conference as the final four matches of the 2016 regular season will be contested with all four set to have big impacts on the final league standings. On Thursday night, the Top 3 teams in UConn (22 points), Memphis (21) and SMU (19) all posted victories with UCF, who was in seventh place on 10 points, also posting a victory to grab three points and move up to fourth place. By virtue of those results, Tulsa (12 points) sits fifth in the conference with both USF and UC tied for the final playoff spot on 11 points. The Bearcats will need a result Sunday against Temple and perhaps some help from other teams to earn a Top 6 finish.
// NOTES
The Bearcats fell to 10-5-3 overall on the season and 3-3-2 in the American Athletic Conference to slip into a tie for sixth place with USF on 11 points (USF lost, 3-1, while UCF won, 2-0, to send the Knights (13 points) to fifth and both the Bearcats and Bulls to sixth)
The loss is UC's first home defeat of the season after they had opened the year 5-0-2
The match marked only the fourth time UC has been shutout this season with the three losses all coming by way of 2-0 defeats to go with one 0-0 draw
The five shots for Cotleur are a single-game high after she recorded four shots in a pair of games, the most recent being the 0-0 draw with Houston (10/13/16)
// UPCOMING
Sunday marks the regular season finale for not on the Bearcat team, but also five individuals that will be honored as part of Senior Day. The Bearcats will face Temple in a 1 p.m. match at Gettler Stadium with seniors Emma Dwenger, Taylor Jackson, Natalie Smith, Kayla Utley and Bailey Wilson being honored before the match. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the match for Signature Sunday as all the members of the UC team will be available for autographs following the match.
// 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.