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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team saw its six-match undefeated streak come to an end Thursday night on the road as Tulsa scored twice in the first half to claim a 2-0 decision over the Bearcats at Hurricane Stadium in Tulsa. The loss, UC's first in its last seven matches, dropped the Bearcats to 8-3-1 overall on the year and 1-1-0 in the American Athletic Conference while the Hurricane evened their overall record 6-6-1 with a 2-1-0 standing in league play.
A reported 15 mile-per-hour breeze continually blew throughout the match with each team dealing with both the heavy wind in their face and at their back. The statistics paint a picture of the wind's presence as TU was unable to get a shot off in the second half as it went into the wind while UC held the ball and action in the attacking half of the field in the final 45 minutes of play.
"I think we're all disappointed with how the night went overall," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "It wasn't the first half performance we had hoped for due to some costly mistakes. Playing on the road, you have to be able to weather what the home team throws at you for little periods of the game. Unfortunately, we created one too many chances for Tulsa by some poor decisions and individual mistakes.
"We did well with our pressure in the second half as Tulsa didn't have one shot on target to test us," Stafford continued. "Unfortunately, we dug ourselves too big of a hole to get out of and Tulsa just packed it in. I'm sure we spent all but three minutes in Tulsa's half, but had nothing to show for it. Credit their GK; I thought she was the difference in the second half. She made some fantastic saves.
"We are all very frustrated that we continue to be our own worst enemy," Stafford said. "I haven't seen too many teams create and punish us from their own work. At some point, our players need to produce more consistently on both sides of the ball, execute and do their jobs."
// FIRST HALF
The hosts opened the scoring in the 9' as Darienne Chapman lofted a pass in from the right flank, sending her pass toward the middle of the penalty area where Natalie Smith came out to meet the ball. But, Smith misplayed the ball and it deflected off her hands toward the goal where Valiree Morris awaited and pushed the ball across the line for a 1-0 TU lead.
After a few TU corners were headed away from danger by Vanessa Gilles, the Bearcats received a solid try from Jordan Cotleur, but her offering went wide right in the 28'. Four minutes later, TU countered down the right side and saw Alyssa Kaiser collect the ball and drive to the center of the pitch before driving a shot from 20 yards out into the upper corner for a 2-0 lead.
The Bearcats continued to push and had a trio of solid shots, including a pair by Katy Couperus. In the 35', Couperus tested TU keeper Rebecca Defer with a hard shot from distance that forced Defer to dive to and make the save. Three minutes later, Julie Gavorski had a go as she collected the ball at the top of the box, turned and fired, but Defer was able to pull in the save. Finally, in the 43', Couperus was back at it again, this time seeing her high shot be knocked down by Defer to keep the visitors off the scoreboard in the first half.
// SECOND HALF
In a tale of two halves, the Bearcats had the wind at their backs, but were unable to capitalize in the final half of play. UC held a 6-0 advantage in shots in the half with a 3-0 advantage in shots on goals. After not earning a corner kick in the opening 45 minutes of play, the Bearcats were able to garner eight in the second half.
The Bearcats had several strong attempts on goal in the half, including a pair in back-to-back attempts early in the half. In the 52', Jaycie Brown took a crack at ending the shutout as she drove toward the goal and, from 20 yards out, launched a shot toward the right post that Defer was able to punch away and set up a corner kick. On the ensuing set piece, Taylor Pavlika sent the ball into the center of the area with the wind pushing in toward the goal line, forcing Defer to punch the ball over the bar once again.
In the 58', UC earned another corner with Pavlika again sending the ball into the center of the box. The ball was headed around three times, but none of those chances were able to find the target. UC followed up with several runs into the box later in the action, but were unable to get a shot off.
With time winding down, the Bearcats added to the pressure and nearly pulled one back in the 72' as Cassie Wheldon collected a throw-in from Pavlika near the top of the area. Wheldon turned from 24 yards out and ripped a shot toward the right post, but Defer was again there to punch the ball clear for a UC corner.
// NOTES
• The Bearcats slipped to 8-3-1 on the season, 4-3-0 on the road and 1-1-0 in the conference.
• UC still leads the all-time series, 4-2-0, but is now 0-2-0 all-time in Tulsa against the Hurricane.
• UC's six-match undefeated streak came to an end with the loss. The Bearcats were 5-0-1 in their previous six matches.
• The match marked just the second time this year UC has been shut out with the first coming in a 2-0 loss at Boston College.
• With the goal allowed at 8:52 into the match, UC's consecutive minutes streak of not allowing a goal came to an end at 342:49.
// UPCOMING
UC's three-match road trip comes to a close Sunday afternoon as the Bearcats will face the Memphis Tigers at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) in Memphis. The Tigers faced East Carolina at home Thursday night and scored a 5-0 victory over the visiting Pirates.
// 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.