Tickets// THE OPENING WHISTLE
The 2017 season gets underway this weekend for the University of Cincinnati women's soccer program as the Bearcats will play host to Buffalo and Boston University at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats and Bulls will open the slate with a 7 p.m. contest on the UC campus Friday night before UC welcomes the Terriers to town on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. Both matches will be streamed live on GoBearcats.com, the online home of UC Athletics.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2017 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and, this year, will all be free. The link to the stream can be found on the women's soccer schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// EXPERIENCE UC
Both matches this week, along with all home matches in 2017, will be part of the Experience UC initiative, which is 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.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsWSOC. Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) also can be followed on Twitter.
// BACK AT IT
When the whistle sounds to open Friday's match with the Bulls, it will mark the start of the 38th varsity season the Bearcats have begun. In the previous 37 years, the UC program has recorded 369 victories, including 184 at home, and hold an all-time winning percentage of 56.9 percent.
// LIFTING THE LID - SEASON
The Bearcats hold a 24-12-1 all-time record in their season-opening match with a 2-2-0 mark in Stafford's time leading the program. Last year, the Bearcats captured a 2-1, double overtime victory over visiting Dayton to rebound from a 2-1 setback to #21 DePaul one year earlier. In the last 10 years, UC is 5-4-1 in season openers with four of those matches going to at least one overtime.
// LIFTING THE LID - HOME
When playing their first home match of the season, the Bearcats hold a 25-10-2 overall record and 1-1-1 in their last three home openers. This year's match with Buffalo will mark the third year in a row UC has opened the season at home.
// USWNT COMING TO TOWN
Earlier this summer, it was announced that the UC will play host to the U.S. Women's National Team as they will face New Zealand in an international friendly. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m. and will broadcast on FS1 live from Nippert Stadium.
// GILLES ONCE AGAIN HONORED
For the second year in a row, Vanessa Gilles has been named the American Athletic Conference's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, an honor she first earned last season. The award, which comes through a vote of the league head coaches, is just the second preseason honor earned in program history after Gilles' first honor last year. The awards didn't stop there for Gilles as she was also named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference team and the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's DI Preseason Best XI Third Team. She joined Memphis' Marie Levasseur on the third team with both being the only players selected from the American.
// GAVORSKI GRABS HONOR
Julie Gavorski also earned a preseason honor as she joined Gilles on the American's Preseason All-Conference squad. The accolade is the first preseason honor earned by Gavorski who finished the 2016 season by being selected to the American Athletic All-Conference Second Team. Gavorski led the team in goals (8), points (17) and game-winning goals (4) one year ago.
// BEARCATS SELECTED THIRD
The Bearcats have been predicted to finish third in the American Athletic Conference this season in a vote of the league coaches as UC collected 60 points and one first-place vote - a first for the Bearcats as members of the American. Memphis was picked to win the title, scoring 74 points and five first-place votes while SMU was second with 65 points and three first-place votes. USF (57 points, 1 first-place vote) and UConn (56) rounded out the Top 5. For the Bearcats, the third-place selection equals its highest predicted finish as a member of the American after they were slotted in a tie for third prior to last season.
// FRIENDLY RECAP #1 - NIU 0:4 UC
• Cincinnati defeated visiting Northern Illinois, 4-0, in the first friendly of the season on August 6.
• Four different players added their names to the scoresheet with Julia Abbott netting the first goal of the match, which would hold up as the game-winner.
• Rookies Lexie Kolano and Sophie Gorman added goals later in the match before Gabrielle LoPresti closed out the scoring in the final of three, 30-minute periods played.
• UC out-shot NIU, 18-1, with Kaleigh Piscioneri recording the lone save of the night for the hosts.
// FRIENDLY RECAP #2 - UC 3:1 INDIANA
• The Bearcats remained perfect in the exhibition season as they handed host Indiana a 3-1 setback in Bloomington, Ind., August 11.
• Gorman tallied her second goal in as many matches as the rookie staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
• IU scored early into the second half to knot the match at 1-1, but the Bearcats proved resilient as they added two more goals in the second half while holding IU scoreless the rest of the way.
• Jaycie Brown scored in the 62' minute to give the visitors the lead back before Abbott added an insurance goal, her second of the preseason.
• Madison Less got the starting call in goal and played the first half before making way for freshman Jane Sensibaugh, who played the final 45 minutes.
// KNOW THE FOE: BUFFALO
• Friday's match will be the first of the year for the Bulls
• UB posted a 7-8-5 overall record last year and were 4-4-3 in the MAC
• The Bulls were 7-0-3 at home in 2016, but 0-6-2 on the road (0-2-0 neutral)
• Carissima Cutrona returns this year after leading UB in scoring in 2016 as she led the way with team-bests in goals (10), game-winning goals (4) and points (21)
• Goalkeeper Laura Dougall also returns after posting 72 saves and allowing just 14 goals in 18 matches, giving her a 0.75 goals against average while recording six shutouts
// IN THE SERIES: BEARCATS vs. BULLS
• The two teams will be playing one another for the first time
// FACING THEIR CONFERENCE: THE MAC
• UC holds an all-time record of 21-6-2 against teams from the Mid-American Conference
• The last time the Bearcats faced a MAC foe was September 15, 2013, with UC scoring a 2-1 victory over visiting Kent State in Stafford's first season at UC
// KNOW THE FOE: BOSTON UNIVERSITY
• Boston will play its second match of the season Sunday after opening the year at Louisville Friday
• The Terriers posted a 9-11-1 record last year, but went 8-1-0 in Patriot League play
• The team's Top 2 scorers return from 2016, including McKenna Doyle and Jesse Shreck. Doyle led the team with 4 goals and 11 points while Shreck tied for the lead with 4 assists, was second with 10 points, and led the way with two game-winning goals.
• Defensively, the Terriers split time between two keepers in 2016 with only one of those women, Hannah Ciolek, returning this year. Ciolek posted a 1.75 GAA after she recorded 39 saves and allowed 19 goals in 977 minutes of play.
// IN THE SERIES: BEARCATS vs. TERRIERS
• UC leads the all-time series, 1-0-0, and has won one in a row
• Sunday's match will be the first in the series played in Cincinnati
• In the last meeting, the Bearcats escaped Boston with a 2-1 victory. With time winding down in regulation and the match level at 1-1, Vanessa Gilles carried the ball toward the goal and sent a shot on target with under 10 seconds remaining. The shot, however, was deflected by a BU defender and rolled into the goal for an own goal and, eight seconds later, a UC win
// FACING THEIR CONFERENCE: THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Last year's match at Boston was the first time the Bearcats had played a current member of the Patriot League
// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 19 times and hold an impressive 17-0-2 record in those matches after posting a 3-0-1 mark during the 2016 season with the 1-1 draw to Duquesne halting a 10-match winning streak in those Sunday matches. During the 19 matches, the Bearcats have outscored their foes, 44-10, with the UC defense recording 11 clean sheets in that span. This weekend, Boston will be the first of five Sunday home matches that will also see the Bearcats face Miami (Fla.), Purdue, USF and Memphis.
// GAFFER BACK FOR YEAR FIVE
Head Coach Neil Stafford is set to start his fifth season at the helm of the Bearcats program. In his previous four seasons in Cincinnati, Stafford and his staff have guided UC to 42 victories, which is tied for the most wins in the first four years of leading the program with Meridy Glenn. He has led the team to an improved winning percentage in each year he has been with UC. Statistically, the team has allowed fewer goals each season, letting in 37 his first year before conceding just 21 last year. Offensively, his side has tallied at least 30 goals in all four of his seasons, a streak that had not happened since an 11-year run came to an end in the 2003 season.
// CHASING WINS - STAFFORD
The 2017 season will not only be the fifth in Cincinnati for Stafford, but also his 15th as a collegiate coach. His players have captured 42 victories during his time in Cincinnati, needing eight more this year to give the head coach his 50th win at UC. Prior to that milestone, a sixth victory this year will be the 150th win in his collegiate coaching career.
// SENIOR SIX
Six seniors are set to compete in their final collegiate seasons this fall. The Class of 2017 includes Jaycie Brown, Katy Couperus, Lizzie Ehrnfelt, Julie Gavorski, Vanessa Gilles and Taylor Pavlika. The seniors will be honored during Senior Night festivities surrounding the Bearcats' match with visiting Morehead State on October 6.
// CHASING WINS - SENIORS
The 2017 seniors have won 34 matches in their three years at UC, which currently ranks tied for 23rd on the all-time class wins list. Having won 10, 13 and 11 matches in the last three seasons, should the Bearcats record double-digit wins again this year, the seniors would finish with at least 44 victories, which would rank them 12th all-time. To crack the Top 10, the seniors would need 13 wins this year as 47 victories is a three-way time for 8th (1996, 1989, 1983).
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The program has welcomed 10 new players to the roster this year, including one transfer and nine true freshmen. The transfer comes in the form of Jill Vetere, a native of Mason, Ohio, who is returning home following two years at the University of Louisville. The nine-member freshman class includes Abby Brauning (Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame), Sophie Gorman (Cincinnati McNicholas), Riley Gruenbaum (Plain City, Ohio), Lexie Kolano (Trafford, Pa.), Bailey Korhorn (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Kiki Lowell (Kitchener, Ontario), Delaney Riester (Nobelsville, Ind.), Karli Royer (Westerville, Ohio) and Jane Sensibaugh (Solon, Ohio).
// BIG AWARDS
Looking back at their high school careers, two newcomers on the 2017 roster bring with them USC (formerly NSCAA) All-America accolades earned during their prep careers. Vetere earned All-America honors in 2014 as a senior while also being named the Ohio Division I Player of the Year. Gorman was a two-time All-American, being selected for the honor in both 2014 and 2016.
// MAC IS BACK
Players were not the only new addition to the program this offseason as Gavin MacLeod, a former volunteer assistant with the staff in 2014, has returned to the Bearcats. MacLeod will serve as an assistant coach and director of player performance. Prior to his arrival, MacLeod served as the director of coaching for girls at AFC Lightning in Peachtree City, Ga. His coaching experience also includes time in the Cincinnati area working with Kings Hammer Academy as an assistant coach with its USL PDL side and also was the head coach of the Dayton Dutch Lions (USL W-League), Unite Premier (CUP) and Ohio South ODP.
// STAFFORD RECEIVES HALL CALL
At the end of June, it was announced that Jacquie Stafford, the Bearcats' Director of Operations and wife to head coach Neil Stafford, will be one of six former Central Michigan University student-athletes enshrined in the CMU Marcy Weston Hall of Fame. The former Jacquie Lacek, had standout career for the Chippewas as she still holds program records for single-match goals scored (3) and points in a match (7) while also holding the school record for career assists (19). An NSCAA Scholar-Athlete Second Team honoree and three-time All-MAC selection, Jacquie will be enshrined in a ceremony in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Friday, September 22.
// LOOKING BACK: 2016
The Bearcats finished the 2016 season with an 11-5-4 overall record and were 4-3-2 in the American Athletic Conference, finishing tied for fourth in the final standings and earning the #5 seed in the six-team tournament where they fell to #4 seed USF on penalty kicks following a scoreless draw. The 11 victories marked the third year in a row the Bearcats had double-digit win totals, the first time that has happened since the 2000-02 seasons, and just the fifth time in program history.
// CLEAN SHEETS
Last year, the Bearcats shut out nine opponents on its way to allowing just 21 goals, which was just over one goal allowed per match. During the season, UC went on a streak of not allowing a goal scored for a span of 311:40, a streak that ranks as the seventh-longest since the start of the 2001 season and spanned three full matches and parts of two others. Once Memphis scored at the 86:35 mark of the match, the Bearcats came out and shut out their next three foes, including a 0-0, double overtime draw with Houston (110:00 minutes). The streak came to an end at the 18:15 mark when USF tallied a goal to tie that match a 1-1. Since Stafford and his staff have taken over the program, UC has recorded stretches of 250 minutes or more of holding a foe scoreless six different times.
// QUICK TO SCORE
Last year, three goals were scored by UC in the opening seven minutes of play with Jaycie Brown finding the back of the net in 1:54 in a match at Memphis. That strike from Brown ranks as the 11th-fastest in program history (dating back to 2001) and the third-fastest goal scored during Stafford's tenure at UC. During the four years Stafford has guided the program, the Bearcats have found the back of the net 17 times in the opening 15 minutes of play with five such goals last year.
// HANGING ON AT THE END
On the opposite end of the time spectrum, the Bearcats also have had a propensity for scoring late in matches. Since the start of the 2001 season, UC has scored 25 goals with 88:03 or later showing on the clock, including 14 in overtime/double-overtime. Three late goals last year made noise, including Gavorski's goal with 14 seconds remaining in double overtime (109:46) to defeat Dayton, 2-1, as goal that ranks as the second latest, surpassed only by Laura Rose's winner at 109:58 (just two seconds from the end of the match) in 2012. An own goal by BU at 89:52 ranks as the 16th latest for UC while Brown's goal at 89:09 at USF pulled the Bearcats level and helped earn a point with a 2-2 draw, a point that was needed to reach the postseason conference tournament.
// ACADEMICALLY SOUND
Last year, the Bearcats collectively sported a 3.51 grade-point average for the year and earned a College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA, an award the program has collected each of the past two years and nine times in total. Individually, 25 of the 30 women on the roster recorded a 3.00 GPA or better during the 2016-17 academic year and were named American Athletic Conference All-Academic. Staying the conference, Vanessa Gilles was one of three UC student-athletes to also be named a 2016-17 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipient by the AAC, an award that is give annually to one student-athlete that carries a 3.00 GPA, has strong academic and athletic credentials and serves in the community. Gilles, who was chosen by the Faculty Representatives from around the conference, was the winner for women's soccer, joining Adrian Valles (outdoor track & field, men) and Connor Davis (swimming & diving, men) as award winners.
// UP NEXT
Following the opening weekend of play, the Bearcats will return to the friendly confines of Gettler Stadium for two more home matches, this time welcoming a pair of Atlantic Coast (ACC) foes. First, the Bearcats and Pittsburgh Panthers will meet in a 7 p.m. match on Thursday, September 24. Then, the four-match home stand comes to a close as the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) come calling for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, September 27.
The 2017 season gets underway this weekend for the University of Cincinnati women's soccer program as the Bearcats will play host to Buffalo and Boston University at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats and Bulls will open the slate with a 7 p.m. contest on the UC campus Friday night before UC welcomes the Terriers to town on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. Both matches will be streamed live on GoBearcats.com, the online home of UC Athletics.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2017 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and, this year, will all be free. The link to the stream can be found on the women's soccer schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// EXPERIENCE UC
Both matches this week, along with all home matches in 2017, will be part of the Experience UC initiative, which is 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.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsWSOC. Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) also can be followed on Twitter.
// BACK AT IT
When the whistle sounds to open Friday's match with the Bulls, it will mark the start of the 38th varsity season the Bearcats have begun. In the previous 37 years, the UC program has recorded 369 victories, including 184 at home, and hold an all-time winning percentage of 56.9 percent.
// LIFTING THE LID - SEASON
The Bearcats hold a 24-12-1 all-time record in their season-opening match with a 2-2-0 mark in Stafford's time leading the program. Last year, the Bearcats captured a 2-1, double overtime victory over visiting Dayton to rebound from a 2-1 setback to #21 DePaul one year earlier. In the last 10 years, UC is 5-4-1 in season openers with four of those matches going to at least one overtime.
// LIFTING THE LID - HOME
When playing their first home match of the season, the Bearcats hold a 25-10-2 overall record and 1-1-1 in their last three home openers. This year's match with Buffalo will mark the third year in a row UC has opened the season at home.
// USWNT COMING TO TOWN
Earlier this summer, it was announced that the UC will play host to the U.S. Women's National Team as they will face New Zealand in an international friendly. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m. and will broadcast on FS1 live from Nippert Stadium.
// GILLES ONCE AGAIN HONORED
For the second year in a row, Vanessa Gilles has been named the American Athletic Conference's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, an honor she first earned last season. The award, which comes through a vote of the league head coaches, is just the second preseason honor earned in program history after Gilles' first honor last year. The awards didn't stop there for Gilles as she was also named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference team and the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's DI Preseason Best XI Third Team. She joined Memphis' Marie Levasseur on the third team with both being the only players selected from the American.
// GAVORSKI GRABS HONOR
Julie Gavorski also earned a preseason honor as she joined Gilles on the American's Preseason All-Conference squad. The accolade is the first preseason honor earned by Gavorski who finished the 2016 season by being selected to the American Athletic All-Conference Second Team. Gavorski led the team in goals (8), points (17) and game-winning goals (4) one year ago.
// BEARCATS SELECTED THIRD
The Bearcats have been predicted to finish third in the American Athletic Conference this season in a vote of the league coaches as UC collected 60 points and one first-place vote - a first for the Bearcats as members of the American. Memphis was picked to win the title, scoring 74 points and five first-place votes while SMU was second with 65 points and three first-place votes. USF (57 points, 1 first-place vote) and UConn (56) rounded out the Top 5. For the Bearcats, the third-place selection equals its highest predicted finish as a member of the American after they were slotted in a tie for third prior to last season.
// FRIENDLY RECAP #1 - NIU 0:4 UC
• Cincinnati defeated visiting Northern Illinois, 4-0, in the first friendly of the season on August 6.
• Four different players added their names to the scoresheet with Julia Abbott netting the first goal of the match, which would hold up as the game-winner.
• Rookies Lexie Kolano and Sophie Gorman added goals later in the match before Gabrielle LoPresti closed out the scoring in the final of three, 30-minute periods played.
• UC out-shot NIU, 18-1, with Kaleigh Piscioneri recording the lone save of the night for the hosts.
// FRIENDLY RECAP #2 - UC 3:1 INDIANA
• The Bearcats remained perfect in the exhibition season as they handed host Indiana a 3-1 setback in Bloomington, Ind., August 11.
• Gorman tallied her second goal in as many matches as the rookie staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
• IU scored early into the second half to knot the match at 1-1, but the Bearcats proved resilient as they added two more goals in the second half while holding IU scoreless the rest of the way.
• Jaycie Brown scored in the 62' minute to give the visitors the lead back before Abbott added an insurance goal, her second of the preseason.
• Madison Less got the starting call in goal and played the first half before making way for freshman Jane Sensibaugh, who played the final 45 minutes.
// KNOW THE FOE: BUFFALO
• Friday's match will be the first of the year for the Bulls
• UB posted a 7-8-5 overall record last year and were 4-4-3 in the MAC
• The Bulls were 7-0-3 at home in 2016, but 0-6-2 on the road (0-2-0 neutral)
• Carissima Cutrona returns this year after leading UB in scoring in 2016 as she led the way with team-bests in goals (10), game-winning goals (4) and points (21)
• Goalkeeper Laura Dougall also returns after posting 72 saves and allowing just 14 goals in 18 matches, giving her a 0.75 goals against average while recording six shutouts
// IN THE SERIES: BEARCATS vs. BULLS
• The two teams will be playing one another for the first time
// FACING THEIR CONFERENCE: THE MAC
• UC holds an all-time record of 21-6-2 against teams from the Mid-American Conference
• The last time the Bearcats faced a MAC foe was September 15, 2013, with UC scoring a 2-1 victory over visiting Kent State in Stafford's first season at UC
// KNOW THE FOE: BOSTON UNIVERSITY
• Boston will play its second match of the season Sunday after opening the year at Louisville Friday
• The Terriers posted a 9-11-1 record last year, but went 8-1-0 in Patriot League play
• The team's Top 2 scorers return from 2016, including McKenna Doyle and Jesse Shreck. Doyle led the team with 4 goals and 11 points while Shreck tied for the lead with 4 assists, was second with 10 points, and led the way with two game-winning goals.
• Defensively, the Terriers split time between two keepers in 2016 with only one of those women, Hannah Ciolek, returning this year. Ciolek posted a 1.75 GAA after she recorded 39 saves and allowed 19 goals in 977 minutes of play.
// IN THE SERIES: BEARCATS vs. TERRIERS
• UC leads the all-time series, 1-0-0, and has won one in a row
• Sunday's match will be the first in the series played in Cincinnati
• In the last meeting, the Bearcats escaped Boston with a 2-1 victory. With time winding down in regulation and the match level at 1-1, Vanessa Gilles carried the ball toward the goal and sent a shot on target with under 10 seconds remaining. The shot, however, was deflected by a BU defender and rolled into the goal for an own goal and, eight seconds later, a UC win
// FACING THEIR CONFERENCE: THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
• Last year's match at Boston was the first time the Bearcats had played a current member of the Patriot League
// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 19 times and hold an impressive 17-0-2 record in those matches after posting a 3-0-1 mark during the 2016 season with the 1-1 draw to Duquesne halting a 10-match winning streak in those Sunday matches. During the 19 matches, the Bearcats have outscored their foes, 44-10, with the UC defense recording 11 clean sheets in that span. This weekend, Boston will be the first of five Sunday home matches that will also see the Bearcats face Miami (Fla.), Purdue, USF and Memphis.
// GAFFER BACK FOR YEAR FIVE
Head Coach Neil Stafford is set to start his fifth season at the helm of the Bearcats program. In his previous four seasons in Cincinnati, Stafford and his staff have guided UC to 42 victories, which is tied for the most wins in the first four years of leading the program with Meridy Glenn. He has led the team to an improved winning percentage in each year he has been with UC. Statistically, the team has allowed fewer goals each season, letting in 37 his first year before conceding just 21 last year. Offensively, his side has tallied at least 30 goals in all four of his seasons, a streak that had not happened since an 11-year run came to an end in the 2003 season.
// CHASING WINS - STAFFORD
The 2017 season will not only be the fifth in Cincinnati for Stafford, but also his 15th as a collegiate coach. His players have captured 42 victories during his time in Cincinnati, needing eight more this year to give the head coach his 50th win at UC. Prior to that milestone, a sixth victory this year will be the 150th win in his collegiate coaching career.
// SENIOR SIX
Six seniors are set to compete in their final collegiate seasons this fall. The Class of 2017 includes Jaycie Brown, Katy Couperus, Lizzie Ehrnfelt, Julie Gavorski, Vanessa Gilles and Taylor Pavlika. The seniors will be honored during Senior Night festivities surrounding the Bearcats' match with visiting Morehead State on October 6.
// CHASING WINS - SENIORS
The 2017 seniors have won 34 matches in their three years at UC, which currently ranks tied for 23rd on the all-time class wins list. Having won 10, 13 and 11 matches in the last three seasons, should the Bearcats record double-digit wins again this year, the seniors would finish with at least 44 victories, which would rank them 12th all-time. To crack the Top 10, the seniors would need 13 wins this year as 47 victories is a three-way time for 8th (1996, 1989, 1983).
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The program has welcomed 10 new players to the roster this year, including one transfer and nine true freshmen. The transfer comes in the form of Jill Vetere, a native of Mason, Ohio, who is returning home following two years at the University of Louisville. The nine-member freshman class includes Abby Brauning (Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame), Sophie Gorman (Cincinnati McNicholas), Riley Gruenbaum (Plain City, Ohio), Lexie Kolano (Trafford, Pa.), Bailey Korhorn (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Kiki Lowell (Kitchener, Ontario), Delaney Riester (Nobelsville, Ind.), Karli Royer (Westerville, Ohio) and Jane Sensibaugh (Solon, Ohio).
// BIG AWARDS
Looking back at their high school careers, two newcomers on the 2017 roster bring with them USC (formerly NSCAA) All-America accolades earned during their prep careers. Vetere earned All-America honors in 2014 as a senior while also being named the Ohio Division I Player of the Year. Gorman was a two-time All-American, being selected for the honor in both 2014 and 2016.
// MAC IS BACK
Players were not the only new addition to the program this offseason as Gavin MacLeod, a former volunteer assistant with the staff in 2014, has returned to the Bearcats. MacLeod will serve as an assistant coach and director of player performance. Prior to his arrival, MacLeod served as the director of coaching for girls at AFC Lightning in Peachtree City, Ga. His coaching experience also includes time in the Cincinnati area working with Kings Hammer Academy as an assistant coach with its USL PDL side and also was the head coach of the Dayton Dutch Lions (USL W-League), Unite Premier (CUP) and Ohio South ODP.
// STAFFORD RECEIVES HALL CALL
At the end of June, it was announced that Jacquie Stafford, the Bearcats' Director of Operations and wife to head coach Neil Stafford, will be one of six former Central Michigan University student-athletes enshrined in the CMU Marcy Weston Hall of Fame. The former Jacquie Lacek, had standout career for the Chippewas as she still holds program records for single-match goals scored (3) and points in a match (7) while also holding the school record for career assists (19). An NSCAA Scholar-Athlete Second Team honoree and three-time All-MAC selection, Jacquie will be enshrined in a ceremony in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Friday, September 22.
// LOOKING BACK: 2016
The Bearcats finished the 2016 season with an 11-5-4 overall record and were 4-3-2 in the American Athletic Conference, finishing tied for fourth in the final standings and earning the #5 seed in the six-team tournament where they fell to #4 seed USF on penalty kicks following a scoreless draw. The 11 victories marked the third year in a row the Bearcats had double-digit win totals, the first time that has happened since the 2000-02 seasons, and just the fifth time in program history.
// CLEAN SHEETS
Last year, the Bearcats shut out nine opponents on its way to allowing just 21 goals, which was just over one goal allowed per match. During the season, UC went on a streak of not allowing a goal scored for a span of 311:40, a streak that ranks as the seventh-longest since the start of the 2001 season and spanned three full matches and parts of two others. Once Memphis scored at the 86:35 mark of the match, the Bearcats came out and shut out their next three foes, including a 0-0, double overtime draw with Houston (110:00 minutes). The streak came to an end at the 18:15 mark when USF tallied a goal to tie that match a 1-1. Since Stafford and his staff have taken over the program, UC has recorded stretches of 250 minutes or more of holding a foe scoreless six different times.
// QUICK TO SCORE
Last year, three goals were scored by UC in the opening seven minutes of play with Jaycie Brown finding the back of the net in 1:54 in a match at Memphis. That strike from Brown ranks as the 11th-fastest in program history (dating back to 2001) and the third-fastest goal scored during Stafford's tenure at UC. During the four years Stafford has guided the program, the Bearcats have found the back of the net 17 times in the opening 15 minutes of play with five such goals last year.
// HANGING ON AT THE END
On the opposite end of the time spectrum, the Bearcats also have had a propensity for scoring late in matches. Since the start of the 2001 season, UC has scored 25 goals with 88:03 or later showing on the clock, including 14 in overtime/double-overtime. Three late goals last year made noise, including Gavorski's goal with 14 seconds remaining in double overtime (109:46) to defeat Dayton, 2-1, as goal that ranks as the second latest, surpassed only by Laura Rose's winner at 109:58 (just two seconds from the end of the match) in 2012. An own goal by BU at 89:52 ranks as the 16th latest for UC while Brown's goal at 89:09 at USF pulled the Bearcats level and helped earn a point with a 2-2 draw, a point that was needed to reach the postseason conference tournament.
// ACADEMICALLY SOUND
Last year, the Bearcats collectively sported a 3.51 grade-point average for the year and earned a College Team Academic Award from the NSCAA, an award the program has collected each of the past two years and nine times in total. Individually, 25 of the 30 women on the roster recorded a 3.00 GPA or better during the 2016-17 academic year and were named American Athletic Conference All-Academic. Staying the conference, Vanessa Gilles was one of three UC student-athletes to also be named a 2016-17 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipient by the AAC, an award that is give annually to one student-athlete that carries a 3.00 GPA, has strong academic and athletic credentials and serves in the community. Gilles, who was chosen by the Faculty Representatives from around the conference, was the winner for women's soccer, joining Adrian Valles (outdoor track & field, men) and Connor Davis (swimming & diving, men) as award winners.
// UP NEXT
Following the opening weekend of play, the Bearcats will return to the friendly confines of Gettler Stadium for two more home matches, this time welcoming a pair of Atlantic Coast (ACC) foes. First, the Bearcats and Pittsburgh Panthers will meet in a 7 p.m. match on Thursday, September 24. Then, the four-match home stand comes to a close as the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) come calling for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, September 27.