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CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team (0-0-0) opens its 2017 campaign on Friday, August 25, when Gardner-Webb (0-0-0) travels to Gettler Stadium for a 7 p.m. showdown. The match is the regular season opener for both squads. Admission is free as part of the Experience UC initiative.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2017 will once again be streamed live on BearcatsTV and, this year, will all be free. The link to the stream can be found on the men's soccer schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// EXPERIENCE UC
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 free 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.
// MATCH PROMOTIONS
Friday's promotions include a Garage Sale Giveaway where the first 100 UC students get to choose a prize from a variety of promotional items. Show your Bearcat ID and pick your prize (first-come, first-served while supplies last). The match will also be a rUCkus Rewards priority night for UC students interested in climbing the leaderboard for the chance to get a seat on the Michigan football bus trip. All fans can enjoy $2 pretzels and $5 beer at the concession stand throughout the match. Click here to view the season-long promotions schedule.
// SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
The Runnin' Bulldogs enter 2017 following a 4-11-1 record last season including a 2-5-1 mark in the Big South. As GWU welcomes 26 newcomers, it also returns eight starters. Of those returning, David Koloko, Marvin Mendy, and Severin Soerlie each scored three times during the 2016 campaign with Koloko also recording seven assists. In addition, Soerlie was named to the conference's all-freshman team.
// GARDNER-WEBB SERIES
Friday will mark the second all-time meeting between Cincinnati and Gardner-Webb with the Bearcats holding a 1-0 series advantage including a 1-0 overtime home win in 2012.
// OPENING MATCHES
Cincinnati is 22-17-5 all-time in season openers. More recently, the Bearcats are 10-3-3 in 16 season openers under head coach Hylton Dayes and are unbeaten in seven of the last eight lid-lifters. Following the season opener last year being cancelled due to inclement weather, the Bearcats began the 2016 campaign at Fort Wayne with a 3-0 shutout win. Returners JJ Iroh (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) scored goals in the victory.
// DAYES OF OUR LIVES
Head coach Hylton Dayes enters his 17th season at the helm of the program in 2017. The dean of UC's varsity coaches and the all-time winningest coach in Bearcats men's soccer history, Dayes has won 125 matches in Clifton, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice (2003 & 2006). In 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including time as both the men's and women's head coach at Wright State, Dayes is 222-221-61.
// FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
The Bearcats' youth movement continues in 2017 with eight newcomers, on top of 13 newcomers from 2016. Returning underclassmen for this season accounted for 54 percent of the Bearcats scoring last year, led by a team-high five goals by current redshirt sophomore midfielder Ryan Melink (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland). In total, UC brings back five underclassmen who started nine or more matches last season including three -- Patrick Nielsen (Copenhagen, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium), David Sanz (Santander, Spain/IE La Marina), and Aerin West (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) -- who started each game in 2016.
// NIELSEN HONORED
Nielsen was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year as well as was a unanimous selection to the all-conference team. The native Dane is looking to build off of a stellar freshman season in which he was both AAC Second Team and All-Rookie Team selections, in addition to earning All-Ohio Second Team recognition, after tallying two assists while helping anchor the back line of the defense which recorded seven shutouts. As a team, the Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the league.
// CONTINUING MOMENTUM
UC will look to continue the momentum from their best season in nearly a decade in 2016 in which it compiled a 9-7-1 overall record including a program-high fourth place finish in the American Athletic Conference. The American sent two teams to the 2016 NCAA Tournament including USF, whose only conference loss came on Oct. 1 against the Bearcats. UC had 13 newcomers on the team this past season including 11 true freshmen.
CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team (0-0-0) opens its 2017 campaign on Friday, August 25, when Gardner-Webb (0-0-0) travels to Gettler Stadium for a 7 p.m. showdown. The match is the regular season opener for both squads. Admission is free as part of the Experience UC initiative.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2017 will once again be streamed live on BearcatsTV and, this year, will all be free. The link to the stream can be found on the men's soccer schedule page. On the same page, links to live statistics can also be found.
// EXPERIENCE UC
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 free 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.
// MATCH PROMOTIONS
Friday's promotions include a Garage Sale Giveaway where the first 100 UC students get to choose a prize from a variety of promotional items. Show your Bearcat ID and pick your prize (first-come, first-served while supplies last). The match will also be a rUCkus Rewards priority night for UC students interested in climbing the leaderboard for the chance to get a seat on the Michigan football bus trip. All fans can enjoy $2 pretzels and $5 beer at the concession stand throughout the match. Click here to view the season-long promotions schedule.
// SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB
The Runnin' Bulldogs enter 2017 following a 4-11-1 record last season including a 2-5-1 mark in the Big South. As GWU welcomes 26 newcomers, it also returns eight starters. Of those returning, David Koloko, Marvin Mendy, and Severin Soerlie each scored three times during the 2016 campaign with Koloko also recording seven assists. In addition, Soerlie was named to the conference's all-freshman team.
// GARDNER-WEBB SERIES
Friday will mark the second all-time meeting between Cincinnati and Gardner-Webb with the Bearcats holding a 1-0 series advantage including a 1-0 overtime home win in 2012.
// OPENING MATCHES
Cincinnati is 22-17-5 all-time in season openers. More recently, the Bearcats are 10-3-3 in 16 season openers under head coach Hylton Dayes and are unbeaten in seven of the last eight lid-lifters. Following the season opener last year being cancelled due to inclement weather, the Bearcats began the 2016 campaign at Fort Wayne with a 3-0 shutout win. Returners JJ Iroh (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) scored goals in the victory.
// DAYES OF OUR LIVES
Head coach Hylton Dayes enters his 17th season at the helm of the program in 2017. The dean of UC's varsity coaches and the all-time winningest coach in Bearcats men's soccer history, Dayes has won 125 matches in Clifton, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice (2003 & 2006). In 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including time as both the men's and women's head coach at Wright State, Dayes is 222-221-61.
// FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
The Bearcats' youth movement continues in 2017 with eight newcomers, on top of 13 newcomers from 2016. Returning underclassmen for this season accounted for 54 percent of the Bearcats scoring last year, led by a team-high five goals by current redshirt sophomore midfielder Ryan Melink (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland). In total, UC brings back five underclassmen who started nine or more matches last season including three -- Patrick Nielsen (Copenhagen, Denmark/Rungsted Gymnasium), David Sanz (Santander, Spain/IE La Marina), and Aerin West (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) -- who started each game in 2016.
// NIELSEN HONORED
Nielsen was named the American Athletic Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year as well as was a unanimous selection to the all-conference team. The native Dane is looking to build off of a stellar freshman season in which he was both AAC Second Team and All-Rookie Team selections, in addition to earning All-Ohio Second Team recognition, after tallying two assists while helping anchor the back line of the defense which recorded seven shutouts. As a team, the Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the league.
// CONTINUING MOMENTUM
UC will look to continue the momentum from their best season in nearly a decade in 2016 in which it compiled a 9-7-1 overall record including a program-high fourth place finish in the American Athletic Conference. The American sent two teams to the 2016 NCAA Tournament including USF, whose only conference loss came on Oct. 1 against the Bearcats. UC had 13 newcomers on the team this past season including 11 true freshmen.