TicketsCINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati men's soccer will make the short trip over to Norwood on Friday to battle crosstown rival Xavier at the XU Soccer Complex. First touch is set for 7 p.m.
Tickets to the match are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Purchase tickets online here. Fans can watch the match live and access live statistics on GoXavier.com.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC's comeback hopes were dashed on Monday in a 3-2 loss to visiting Wright State at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats (1-3-0) fell behind midway through the opening half on a Raiders goal in the 20th minute. UC proceeded to answer the bell late in the first half with a score by Mohamed Elmardi (Khartoum, Sudan/Lakota East) during the 36th minute to even the score at one. With the match tied, WSU (3-0-1) tallied back-to-back goals in the 53rd and 57th minutes to push ahead, 3-1. Facing a multi-score deficit late in the match, the Bearcats did not go away lightly and pulled within a goal in the 71st minute on a goal by Peyton Mowery (Troy, Ohio/Troy). Searching for the equalizer in the final minutes, the Red & Black could not muster up enough of an offensive attack as the Raiders held on to come away with the victory, 3-2.
// SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
XU is unbeaten on the year at 1-0-2 overall. Most recently, the Muskies tied Oregon State, 0-0, on Friday in double overtime in Corvallis, Oregon. Prior, XU, again, played an opponent to a scoreless draw on the road with a 0-0 (2OT) result at Northwestern on Aug. 26. The Musketeers' lone win in 2018 came in the home season opener -- a 6-0 victory over Cincinnati Christian. On the year, Simen Hestnes leads the team with three goals -- all of which came versus CCU. Goalkeeper Zachary Nelson has saved four shots in three games. In the preseason, Hestnes and Cameron Taylor were recognized as preseason All-BIG EAST honorees. As a team, XU was picked to finish third in the 10-team league.
// XAVIER SERIES
The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 25-13-6, and are 11-7-4 in matches played at Xavier. In the last meeting, UC and XU tied, 1-1, at Gettler Stadium on Sept. 8, 2017. Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) scored the first goal of the match in the 57th minute. The Red & Black last won at Xavier in 2008, but did gain a result in 2010.
// SCHALLER HONORED
Sophomore newcomer Moritz Schaller (Austria/Vienna University) was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after leading the Bearcats to their first win of the season on Aug. 31 – a 2-0 win at Cleveland State. In the victory, he scored the game winner in the seventh minute. Schaller totaled two shots in his first-career start.
// 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 230-233-62.
// THEY'RE BACK
UC returns 67 percent of its scoring from last year including Smythe who tallied five goals a season ago and sophomores Sean Clarke (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) and Darryn Commissiong (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) who each added four. Goalkeepers Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart) and Pearce Skinner (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc), who combined to save an AAC-best 80 shots in 2017, are also back.
// 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).
// SMYTHE PRESEASON ALL-AAC
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.
Tickets to the match are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Purchase tickets online here. Fans can watch the match live and access live statistics on GoXavier.com.
// LAST TIME OUT
UC's comeback hopes were dashed on Monday in a 3-2 loss to visiting Wright State at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats (1-3-0) fell behind midway through the opening half on a Raiders goal in the 20th minute. UC proceeded to answer the bell late in the first half with a score by Mohamed Elmardi (Khartoum, Sudan/Lakota East) during the 36th minute to even the score at one. With the match tied, WSU (3-0-1) tallied back-to-back goals in the 53rd and 57th minutes to push ahead, 3-1. Facing a multi-score deficit late in the match, the Bearcats did not go away lightly and pulled within a goal in the 71st minute on a goal by Peyton Mowery (Troy, Ohio/Troy). Searching for the equalizer in the final minutes, the Red & Black could not muster up enough of an offensive attack as the Raiders held on to come away with the victory, 3-2.
// SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
XU is unbeaten on the year at 1-0-2 overall. Most recently, the Muskies tied Oregon State, 0-0, on Friday in double overtime in Corvallis, Oregon. Prior, XU, again, played an opponent to a scoreless draw on the road with a 0-0 (2OT) result at Northwestern on Aug. 26. The Musketeers' lone win in 2018 came in the home season opener -- a 6-0 victory over Cincinnati Christian. On the year, Simen Hestnes leads the team with three goals -- all of which came versus CCU. Goalkeeper Zachary Nelson has saved four shots in three games. In the preseason, Hestnes and Cameron Taylor were recognized as preseason All-BIG EAST honorees. As a team, XU was picked to finish third in the 10-team league.
// XAVIER SERIES
The Bearcats lead the all-time series, 25-13-6, and are 11-7-4 in matches played at Xavier. In the last meeting, UC and XU tied, 1-1, at Gettler Stadium on Sept. 8, 2017. Austin Smythe (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day/Radford) scored the first goal of the match in the 57th minute. The Red & Black last won at Xavier in 2008, but did gain a result in 2010.
// SCHALLER HONORED
Sophomore newcomer Moritz Schaller (Austria/Vienna University) was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after leading the Bearcats to their first win of the season on Aug. 31 – a 2-0 win at Cleveland State. In the victory, he scored the game winner in the seventh minute. Schaller totaled two shots in his first-career start.
// 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 230-233-62.
// THEY'RE BACK
UC returns 67 percent of its scoring from last year including Smythe who tallied five goals a season ago and sophomores Sean Clarke (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) and Darryn Commissiong (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) who each added four. Goalkeepers Noah Lawrence (Mitchellville, Md./Sacred Heart) and Pearce Skinner (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc), who combined to save an AAC-best 80 shots in 2017, are also back.
// 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).
// SMYTHE PRESEASON ALL-AAC
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.