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MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team got American Athletic Conference action off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over the Memphis Tigers at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis, Tennessee.
Winners of three straight heading into Saturday's match, the Bearcats (5-3-0) kept the momentum going with a come-from-behind triumph on the road at Memphis (5-4-0) in both teams' league openers. UC fell behind early when Memphis' Josh Burnett scored a header just 18 minutes in. The Bearcats evened the score late in the first half when recent energizer off of the bench in freshman Daniel Oginni (Mississauga, Ontario/King's Christian Collegiate) set up freshman David Sanz (Santander, Spain/IE La Marina) for a score in the 36th minute. After a halftime tie, the score remained deadlocked at one until Oginni made a play in 85th minute with a goal-ahead score which would eventually be the match winner.
// GOAL SCORING SUMMARY
36' - CIN David Sanz (Daniel Oginni)
Oginni (Mississauga, Ontario/King's Christian Collegiate) fed fellow rookie Sanz from the right side with Sanz beating his defender and finishing past the goalkeeper from the top of the box for the score.
85' - CIN Daniel Oginni (Nick Melville)
Oginni was again involved in a scoring sequence when he went one-on-one and sent a shot into the right corner of the net to pull the Bearcats ahead, 2-1, late in the second half. Melville was credited with the assist.
// MATCH NOTES
- UC has now won its conference opener in back-to-back seasons after besting No. 17 Temple, 3-2, at home in 2015. The Bearcats are 2-2 in league lid-lifters since joining The American in 2013.
- Oginni now has two goals on the season. The freshman's first-career goal came on Sept. 14 against Cleveland State.
- Saturday's was UC's first come-from-behind victory of the season and the only time the Bearcats have surrendered a goal in a win.
- The victory marks the first time UC has won four-consecutive matches since beginning the 2009 season 4-0.
// COMMENTS FROM COACH DAYES
"I am very proud of the way our guys battled tonight," said head coach Hylton Dayes. "Going down 1-0 on the road against a good Memphis team is never easy. The guys battled hard and played with a lot of courage to get themselves back into the game. It was a team effort with a lot of guys coming into the game and contributing."
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will shift gears to nonconference play on Wednesday when they cross the Ohio River to face the Northern Kentucky Norse at 4:30 p.m. at the NKU Soccer Stadium. A live stream of the match will be available through ESPN3.