TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati men's soccer will begin its 2018 regular season on Friday, August 24, when it welcomes Northern Illinois to Gettler Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
The match is the regular season opener for both squads and is the first game of a Bearcats soccer doubleheader on Friday with the UC women taking on Wright State immediately after. Admission to both matches is free as part of the season-long Experience UC initiative.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2018 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and 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
Again this season, the Bearcats will be participating in the University's Experience UC initiative that offers free admission (no ticket required) to regular season, home events for select sports. Enjoy free admission to cross country, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving, and track and field home events. Football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball home events will be ticketed.
Experience UC is a community outreach effort that offers the opportunity for sports fans to witness the seismic changes transpiring on our incredible campus. We are proud to open our doors to fans of all ages. The Bearcats are competing to be the class of the league and we invite people to be a part of an unprecedented time in Clifton.
A number of behind-the-scenes experiences geared towards groups are available before most men's soccer matches. Groups interested in attending games should contact Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Branding Luke Willman at 513-556-1081 or luke.willman@uc.edu for more information and to schedule group experiences.
// MATCH PROMOTIONS
Friday's match will celebrate both Parents Weekend and Youth Soccer Night. Giveaways include water bottles for the first 100 youth in attendance. Click here to view the 2018 promotional calendar.
// SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
NIU enters the 2018 season following a 3-11-1 record in 2017, including a 0-4-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Huskies' top three goal scorers from last season return, led by junior forward Jan Maertins who scored four goals – and dished out two assists – a year ago. In the preseason, NIU was picked to finish last in the six-team MAC.
// NORTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
Friday will mark the fifth all-time meeting between UC and NIU with the series tied, 2-2. In the last meeting, the Bearcats dropped a 3-0 decision to the Huskies at the Bert and Iris Wolstein Soccer Classic in Columbus, Ohio. UC is unbeaten against NIU in matches played in Cincinnati.
// OPENING MATCHES
Cincinnati is 23-17-5 all-time in season openers. Furthermore, the Bearcats are 11-3-3 in 17 season openers under head coach Hylton Dayes and are unbeaten in eight of the last nine lid-lifters. The Bearcats began the 2017 campaign with a 3-1 home win against Gardner-Webb. Returner Darryn Commissiong (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) scored the game winner in the match.
// DAYES OF OUR LIVES
Head coach Hylton Dayes enters his 18th season at the helm of the program in 2018. The dean of UC's varsity coaches and the all-time winningest coach in Bearcats men's soccer history, Dayes has won 132 matches in Clifton, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice (2003 & 2006). In 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including time as both the men's and women's head coach at Wright State, Dayes is 229-230-62.
// FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
The Bearcats' youth movement continues in 2018 with 18 underclassmen, including 13 newcomers. Notably, four of the 13 signees hail from the state of Ohio, including a trio of local products in Ben Wendell (Mason, Ohio/Mason), Will Lonneman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller), and Zach Powell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Fairfield).
// THEY'RE BACK
UC returns 67 percent of its scoring from last year including redshirt junior Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) who tallied five goals a season ago and sophomores Sean Clarke (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) and Commissiong who each added four. Goalkeepers Pearce Skinner (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart), who combined to save an AAC-best 80 shots in 2017, are also back.
// SMYTHE HONORED
The American Athletic Conference announced on Aug. 14 its preseason all-conference team with Smythe one of 13 players selected to the squad. UC has now had a player named to the preseason all-conference team in consecutive years after Patrick Nielsen was a unanimous pick in 2017, while also being tabbed preseason Defensive Player of the Year. In the preseason conference poll, the Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the eight-team league.
// PRESEASON SUCCESS
The Bearcats opened the preseason on Aug. 13 with a 2-0 win over visiting Detroit Mercy inside historic Nippert Stadium. Redshirt juniors Smythe and Ryan Melink (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) both scored first half goals to pace the Bearcats' scoring attack. UC's defensive effort was stout, allowing only three shots, including one on goal which was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart). In their final tune-up before the regular season, the Bearcats wrapped up their preseason with a 0-0 draw at SIUE on Aug. 17.
The match is the regular season opener for both squads and is the first game of a Bearcats soccer doubleheader on Friday with the UC women taking on Wright State immediately after. Admission to both matches is free as part of the season-long Experience UC initiative.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2018 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and 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
Again this season, the Bearcats will be participating in the University's Experience UC initiative that offers free admission (no ticket required) to regular season, home events for select sports. Enjoy free admission to cross country, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving, and track and field home events. Football, men's and women's basketball, and baseball home events will be ticketed.
Experience UC is a community outreach effort that offers the opportunity for sports fans to witness the seismic changes transpiring on our incredible campus. We are proud to open our doors to fans of all ages. The Bearcats are competing to be the class of the league and we invite people to be a part of an unprecedented time in Clifton.
A number of behind-the-scenes experiences geared towards groups are available before most men's soccer matches. Groups interested in attending games should contact Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Branding Luke Willman at 513-556-1081 or luke.willman@uc.edu for more information and to schedule group experiences.
// MATCH PROMOTIONS
Friday's match will celebrate both Parents Weekend and Youth Soccer Night. Giveaways include water bottles for the first 100 youth in attendance. Click here to view the 2018 promotional calendar.
// SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
NIU enters the 2018 season following a 3-11-1 record in 2017, including a 0-4-1 mark in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Huskies' top three goal scorers from last season return, led by junior forward Jan Maertins who scored four goals – and dished out two assists – a year ago. In the preseason, NIU was picked to finish last in the six-team MAC.
// NORTHERN ILLINOIS SERIES
Friday will mark the fifth all-time meeting between UC and NIU with the series tied, 2-2. In the last meeting, the Bearcats dropped a 3-0 decision to the Huskies at the Bert and Iris Wolstein Soccer Classic in Columbus, Ohio. UC is unbeaten against NIU in matches played in Cincinnati.
// OPENING MATCHES
Cincinnati is 23-17-5 all-time in season openers. Furthermore, the Bearcats are 11-3-3 in 17 season openers under head coach Hylton Dayes and are unbeaten in eight of the last nine lid-lifters. The Bearcats began the 2017 campaign with a 3-1 home win against Gardner-Webb. Returner Darryn Commissiong (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) scored the game winner in the match.
// DAYES OF OUR LIVES
Head coach Hylton Dayes enters his 18th season at the helm of the program in 2018. The dean of UC's varsity coaches and the all-time winningest coach in Bearcats men's soccer history, Dayes has won 132 matches in Clifton, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice (2003 & 2006). In 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including time as both the men's and women's head coach at Wright State, Dayes is 229-230-62.
// FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
The Bearcats' youth movement continues in 2018 with 18 underclassmen, including 13 newcomers. Notably, four of the 13 signees hail from the state of Ohio, including a trio of local products in Ben Wendell (Mason, Ohio/Mason), Will Lonneman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller), and Zach Powell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Fairfield).
// THEY'RE BACK
UC returns 67 percent of its scoring from last year including redshirt junior Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) who tallied five goals a season ago and sophomores Sean Clarke (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) and Commissiong who each added four. Goalkeepers Pearce Skinner (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) and Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart), who combined to save an AAC-best 80 shots in 2017, are also back.
// SMYTHE HONORED
The American Athletic Conference announced on Aug. 14 its preseason all-conference team with Smythe one of 13 players selected to the squad. UC has now had a player named to the preseason all-conference team in consecutive years after Patrick Nielsen was a unanimous pick in 2017, while also being tabbed preseason Defensive Player of the Year. In the preseason conference poll, the Bearcats were picked to finish seventh in the eight-team league.
// PRESEASON SUCCESS
The Bearcats opened the preseason on Aug. 13 with a 2-0 win over visiting Detroit Mercy inside historic Nippert Stadium. Redshirt juniors Smythe and Ryan Melink (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) both scored first half goals to pace the Bearcats' scoring attack. UC's defensive effort was stout, allowing only three shots, including one on goal which was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart). In their final tune-up before the regular season, the Bearcats wrapped up their preseason with a 0-0 draw at SIUE on Aug. 17.