Tickets// THE OPENING WHISTLE
The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team returns to the road this week with a trip through the Sunshine State with the Bearcats set to face rv/#25 USF Thursday night before closing the two-match road swing Sunday afternoon at UCF. The Bearcats (6-5-2/1-2-1 AAC) and Bulls (6-2-0/1-1-0) will meet in Tampa Thursday at 7 p.m. with the American Digital Network broadcasting the action from Corbett Stadium. Then, UC will meet the Knights (5-3-1/2-0-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
// 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. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// AMERICAN DIGITAL NETWORK
The American Digital Network will broadcast Thursday's match at USF live on Facebook at 7 p.m. Fans can access the feed by visiting Facebook.com/AmericanDigitalNetworkPlus. Lincoln Rose will be on the call with Kit McConnico providing analysis in the book and the Despina McLaughlin reporting from the sideline.
// QUICK SHOTS
• The Bearcats are 6-5-2 overall and 1-2-1 in the AAC after going 0-1-1 this past week at home, including a 0-3 loss to SMU and a 1-1 draw with Houston
• With the loss to the Mustangs, UC's 18-match home undefeated streak came a close with UC going 14-0-4 in that time. The last time the Bearcats had lost a home was a 2-0 decision to #18 UConn on October 27, 2016.
• With its come-from-behind draw with Houston Sunday, UC kept its 'Sunday Fun Day' streak alive, moving to 23-0-4 in Sunday afternoon home matches under Neil Stafford (2013-present)
• To earn the draw, Jill Vetere scored with two seconds remaining in regulation as she hit home a rebound off her saved penalty attempt that UC was awarded with four seconds left on the clock
• The Vetere goal ties for the second-latest regulation goal scored in program history and, since Stafford took over the program in 2013, is the latest regulation goal and the fifth-latest overall in that time frame
• For her efforts, Vetere was named to the weekly AAC Honor Roll, her second such selection in 2018 and third award this year after also being named the Offensive Player earlier this season
• In the latest release of the RPI rankings from the NCAA (Oct. 1), the Bearcats sit at #46 this week, the second-best in the AAC with only #14 Memphis ahead of UC. This week's foes, USF and UCF, rank #73 and #81, respectively.
// IN THE RANKINGS
UC is not ranked this week in either poll and sit ninth in the latest United Soccer Coaches South Region rankings. Memphis is currently ranked #18 in the Coaches poll and #24 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings while USF is receiving votes and ranked #25 in the two polls respectively.
// IN THE RPI
According to the latest NCAA RPI rankings, the Bearcats enter play this week ranked #46, the second-highest standing in the AAC behind only Memphis, who stands #14, the highest of any team on UC's schedule. This week's foes, USF and UCF, are ranked #73 and #81, respectively. Overall, the Bearcats' schedule features 12 teams that are currently ranked in the Top 100 of the RPI with four in the Top 25 (#14 Memphis, #18 Virginia, #20 Auburn & #25 Kansas).
// QUICK RECAP: OPENING HOME AAC WEEKEND
• UC played its first home conference matches of the year last weekend, falling to SMU, 3-0, before drawing with Houston, 1-1
• Madison Less recorded three saves in the match with the Mustangs that saw UC's 18 match home undefeated streak come to an end
• Against UH, Vetere scored on a rebound off a saved PK with two seconds remaining to force OT and an eventual 1-1 draw
• Claudia Eustaquio made six saves in the match as UC improved to 23-0-4 in Sunday home matches under Neil Stafford
// FEELING HONORED
Following the weekend, the AAC announced its weekly award winners with Jill Vetere being selected to the Honor Roll for the second time this season. So far this year, four Bearcats have earned placement on the weekly Honor Roll with Vetere's UC an Honor Roll selection in each of the four three weeks after Dee Picou (Sept. 24), Julia Abbott (Sept. 17) and Kiki Lowell (Sept. 10) with Vetere starting things August 27 with her first selection. Historically, Picou is the 17th different UC player to earn Honor Roll honors with that group collecting 39 total awards (including Vetere's second award). Vetere's selection this week also brings UC's total to nine awards earned in 2018 from the AAC, a list that includes four players of the week, including Vetere (Sept. 17) for offensive, Claudia Eustaquio (Sept. 10) & Madison Less (Sept. 17) for keeper and Brandi Thomsen (Aug. 20) for rookie.
// BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
With four seconds remaining in regulation against Houston, UC was awarded a spot kick that Vetere took and saw saved by the UH keeper with the rebound coming directly back to Vetere, who hammered home the follow up to tie the game with two seconds remaining. Historically, Vetere's goal ties her with Lisa Huth for the second-latest goal scored in regulation in program history after Huth tallied her goal against Loyola at 89:58 on October 10, 1992. The record is held by Paulette Angilecchia, who scored with one second remaining in a September 9, 1994, match with Wright State.
// MORE ON THE LATE GOAL
Vetere's goal at 89:58 marked the 12th goal scored in the 90' of play in program history and the third in the last three years. Included on the last minute list was an own goal from Boston University on September 5, 2016, that gave UC a 2-1 win and, most recently, a goal at 89:09 from Jaycie Brown, whose goal came on October 23, 2016, and tied the match at 2-2 the last time UC played at USF. Additionally, Vetere's goal is now the latest scored in regulation under Neil Stafford since he took over in 2013 and stands as the seventh-latest overall in his tenure when including six overtime-winning scores. Two of those OT winners were scored this year, including Vetere's tally at 98:46 to defeat Northern Kentucky (1-0) and Sophie Gorman's goal at 98:12 against Lipscomb (2-1).
// FIGHT TO THE FINISH
So far this year, the Bearcats have gone to the halftime locker room trailing, 1-0, six times in 13 matches. In those six contests, however, the Bearcats hold a 4-1-1 overall record, including a 3-0-1 mark when those matches are held in Cincinnati. At home, UC trailed Eastern Kentucky, Lipscomb, LSU and Houston at the break before fighting back. The Bearcats won the first three with the wins over EKU and LSU coming in regulation and the LU victory in overtime. The match with the Cougars ended in a 1-1 draw. Away from home, UC's loss came at #8 Virginia (3-0) before the Bearcats came back to win at Tulsa, 2-1.
// BUNCH SCORING
In the four matches won, 2-1, after trailing, 1-0, not only did the Bearcats come back to win, they did so three times by scoring in bunches. The goals in the LSU match came just 3:17 apart while the two goals against EKU were spaced by 4:38. The win at Tulsa came in a 5:48 spread, giving the Bearcats three groupings of back-to-back goals in under six minutes.
// KNOW THE FOE: USF
• The Bulls enter the week with a 6-2-0 overall record and stand 1-1-0 in the AAC after playing their first two league contests last week.
• With three points in AAC play, USF is currently 7th on the league table
• Eveleyne Viens currently leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring with 25 points on a league-high 11 goals scored.
• Sydney Martinez has seen a majority of the minutes in goal, allowing five goals and saving 15 shots for a 0.78 GAA and a .750 save percentage.
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-BULLS
• Cincinnati holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 11-10-4, and is undefeated in its last five (2-0-3).
• The Bulls have the advantage in Tampa with a 7-3-1 record with a 2-2 draw on October 23, 2016, the last meeting in Tampa, halting a four-match losing streak for the Bearcats.
• The last time the two teams met was September 24, 2017, with the Bearcats taking a 1-0 win in Cincinnati on Karli Royer's corner kick goal in the 88' of play.
// KNOW THE FOE: UCF
• The Knights enter the week with a 5-3-1 overall record and are 2-0-0 in AAC play after opening with wins at Temple and UConn last week.
• With six points, UCF is currently tied for third on the AAC table.
• Stefanie Sanders and Zandy Soree lead the scoring for the Knights as they have tallied 17 points (7 goals) and 14 points (6 goals), respectively.
• Vera Varis has played nearly every minute in goal for UCF, allowing 12 goals and stopping 29 shots for a 1.33 GAA and .707 save percentage.
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-KNIGHTS
• The all-time series between UC and UCF is tied, 3-3-2, with the Bearcats going 2-0-1 in the last three, including a scoreless draw last year in Cincinnati to open the AAC season.
• The Knights hold a slim 2-1-0 lead in matches played in Orlando with UC grabbing its first win in the last meeting at UCF, 2-0, on October 20, 2016.
// SEEING THE FIELD
So far this year, the coaching staff has sent a large number of players to the pitch. Including the three different keepers that have seen playing time, UC is averaging 21.3 players earning minutes each match this season, including playing 25 athletes twice (vs. Wright State, vs. Lipscomb).
// EARLY PLAY
Included in all the players being utilized are eight true freshmen, all of which have started at least one match this season with four of those players earning starting spots in four or more matches. Combined, the group is averaging just over 35 minutes played per contest in 2018 with Vanessa DiNardo and Brandi Thomsen both averaging just over 50 minutes per game.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
Jill Vetere continues to lead the team offensively as she has tallied 11 points on four goals and three assists, all of which are single-season highs in her career. She is the lone player with multiple assists this season and one of four with two or more goals in 2018. The three other players with two goals each include Sophie Gorman, Sydney Kilgore and Dee Picou with the later two also chipping in one assist. All five points recorded by Picou this year are the first points in her career, including the junior's first career game-winning goal scored.
// IN-TEN-T ON POINTS
Including the 1-1 draw with Houston, the Bearcats are now undefeated in their last 10 OT contests, posting a 1-0-9 record when playing past 90 minutes since dropping a 2-1 decision at Purdue in 2016. It marks the second time under Neil Stafford that the Bearcats have not lost in overtime in nine-consecutive matches with the first starting in the 2014 season with a 2-2 tie to visiting UC Santa Barbara and finished with a 2-1 win against visiting Dayton to start the 2016 season. The match that ended that streak? The 2-1 setback to Purdue in 2016. The current 10-match streak is the longest in school history, breaking the tie with Stafford's first streak and another nine-match streak from 1996-98 also joining in (5-0-4).
// HOME OVERTIME
When playing in home overtime matches, the Bearcats have been tough to beat recently as they are undefeated in their last 11, holding a 2-0-9 record. The last time UC lost in overtime at home came in 2013 in a 5-4 loss to Louisville. Prior to the current streak, the longest stretch of undefeated home overtime matches was six and came two times, first from 1996-98 (3-0-3) and then from 1999-03 (5-0-1). All told, the Bearcats are 18-19-29 all-time in home overtime contests.
// ALMOST OVER THE HILL
The 2018 season marks the 39th varsity campaign for the Bearcats program. Through the match with Houston, Cincinnati's all-time record stands at 387-281-63 (.573), including a mark of 197-101-30 at home, leaving the team just three wins away from the 200-victory milestone.
// HOME STREAK ENDS
Speaking of the success the Bearcats have enjoyed at home, the team recently saw an 18-match home undefeated streak come to an end with a 3-0 loss to SMU. The last time UC lost at home came in October 27, 2016, in a 2-0 set back to #18 UConn. Between those two losses, the Bearcats posted a 1-0-0 record the rest of the way in 2016, an 8-0-3 mark last year and were 5-0-1 this year prior to SMU's visit. Combined, the Bearcats 18-match streak saw them go 14-0-4 to build the second-longest home undefeated streak in program history behind a 23-match streak that ran from 1983-86.
// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season and including last week's matches with SMU and Houston, the Bearcats have played 54 home matches, posting a 36-7-11 record in that time (.769 win percentage). Including 2018, UC has won at least five home contests each season with eight in 2017, seven wins in 2014 and 2015, six in 2016 and four in 2013. Also, in that time, UC has out-scored its guests, 94-39 (+55). So far in 2018, the Bearcats are 5-1-2 at home and have out scored their opponents, 10-7.
// FRIENDLY CONFINES
In their first five seasons, Stafford and his staff accumulated 32 home wins, the most of any UC women's soccer coach in his/her first five seasons. Meridy Glenn's teams from 1983 to 1987 won 28 matches and posted a .843 win percentage (28-4-3) in her first five years. Expanding into the first six years, Glenn's teams won 34 home matches (34-5-3) while Stafford's Bearcats now have won 37 (37-6-5) thanks to a 5-1-2 start to 2018.
// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 27 times and hold an impressive 23-0-4 record in those matches after drawing with Houston this past weekend. In that span, the Bearcats have not only posted an impressive record, but also have outscored their foes, 54-13, while the defense has recorded 16 clean sheets. One more 'Sunday Fun Day' remains on the schedule in 2018: October 14 against UConn. The match also will be Senior Day.
// THAT'S A FIRST
Last past few week, several firsts were achieved by UC players, including:
• Dee Picou scored the game-tying goal against Lipscomb to net her first career score for the Bearcats, which came two weeks after she recorded her first career point and first career assist on the OT winner against NKU
• Julia Abbott's goal against LSU was not only her first of the year and third of her career, but also stands as her first career game-winning strike
• Freshman Vanessa DiNardo collected her first college point as she assisted on the winning goal against Lipscomb with a sweet back-heel pass to Vetere, who played into Sophie Gorman for the winning strike
• Bri Costigan assisted on the game-tying goal against LSU to pick-up her first point of the year and just her second career point after she assisted on a goal against Temple in 2016, the same match that started UC's current 18-match home undefeated streak
• Freshman Alli Pestaina earned her first career start, making her way into the Starting XI against Lipscomb
• Freshman Madison Lindsay also made her first career start as she was in the Starting XI against Houston last Sunday
// MORE FIRSTS
Speaking of firsts, when UC scored a 2-1 win at Tulsa (Sept. 23), it marked a pair of firsts, including the first win for the program at Tulsa in three tries and the first points the Bearcats have secured on that road trip. Since joining the AAC in 2013, the Bearcats have made the Memphis-Tulsa road trip three times (including 2018) and, in that time, had not recorded a point in any of the matches before the win over TU. Heading into that match, UC was 0-5-0.
// PRO UPDATE: BORDEAUX STANDS 3-0-1
Vanessa Gilles and her French Division 1 side Bordeaux have fared well in the early going of the 2018 campaign with the defender helping the Girondins to a 3-0-1 mark in FD1 play and third place on the table with 10 points behind Lyon (15) and PSG (13). Bordeaux is off until October 13 when they host EA Guingamp one week ahead of traveling to perennial favorite Lyon.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// AT THE HALF-WAY MARK
Nine matches into an 18-match regular season (end of the non-conference slate), the Bearcats posted a 5-3-1 record. With those five wins, the team has now won five or more nonconference matches for five years in a row now to break the record for consecutive seasons of four when the 1994-97 teams also accomplished the feat.
// SPOT ON
At the 11:38 mark at Auburn, Jill Vetere played the ball into the box and Brandi Thomsen was pulled down to earn a penalty kick for the Bearcats. Cassie Wheldon stepped up to the spot and coolly slotted her shot low and into the netting for a 1-0 lead. It was the first PK conversion for the Bearcats in over one year after Julie Gavorski scored from the spot on August 27, 2017, to secure a 1-0 win over visiting Miami (Fla.).
// BACK IN THE SCORING COLUMN
Wheldon's goal was the third of her career, but her first since 2015, her freshman campaign for the Bearcats. That year, she scored twice with the last coming October 18, 2015, when she knocked in the fourth and final goal of a 4-0 victory over visiting Evansville.
// RARE FINISH
The match at Auburn was the 725th in program history. In the 731 matches UC has played in its history, including the two last week, a match has only ended in a scoreless draw 22 times (0.03 percent). Of those 22 matches, seven have come in the last four seasons with two each in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons and once this year.
// MILESTONE MATCH
Of those 731 matches played, 330 have been played at home with the match against Lipscomb standing as both the 325th all-time home match in program history and the 250th played at Gettler Stadium. All-time, the Bearcats are 197-101-30 at home and sport a 138-87-27 record at Gettler Stadium/Meyers Field.
// PACKING THEM IN
The 1,194 fans that attended the Riverboat Rivalry match with Northern Kentucky (Aug. 26) ranks highly in program history attendance figures. That total stands as the sixth-largest home crowd in Bearcats history while also ranking as the 11th-largest UC has played before in its history. That attendance also means two of the Top 6 home crowds in UC history have come when the Norse have visited after the inaugural Riverboat Rivalry in 2016 drew 4,722 fans, a record for a women's college soccer game played in the state of Ohio.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
Nine true freshmen, one sophomore and a junior transfer make up this year's newest Bearcats. Junior Sydney Kilgore, a native of Cincinnati (Oak Hills HS) joins the program after playing for two years at Indiana while sophomore Ying Zhan, a native of China, is in her first year playing collegiate soccer. The rookies are comprised of four individuals from the Cincinnati area, including Emi Carlo (Lebanon HS), Kiley Keehan (Walnut Hills HS), Madison Lindsay (Lebanon HS) and Annie Metzger (Mason HS), three from the Cleveland area, including Vanessa DiNardo (Strongsville, Ohio), Camryn Hartman (Bay Village, Ohio) and Ally Sidloski (Strongsville, Ohio), and two others from outside of the state, including Wisconsin's Brandi Thomsen (Brookfield) and Massachusetts' Alli Pestaina (Brimfield).
// PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Two of the newcomers earned high honors ahead of joining the Bearcats. Brandi Thomsen twice earned player of the year honors in the state of Wisconsin, including being named the 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2017 Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year. Vanessa DiNardo also earned a state honor as she was tabbed as the 2017 Ohio Division I State Player of the Year.
// SAME SCHOOL
While local players joining the program often hail from the same high schools as upperclassmen is nothing new for a collegiate program or, like this year, two sets of two teammates joining the program at the same time (DiNardo/Sidloski from Strongsville and Carlo/Lindsay from Lebanon), the addition of Alli Pestaina to the team brings with it another connection. Before coming to UC, Pestaina, a native of Brimfield, Mass., attended Worcester Academy, the same academy head coach Stafford attended during his prep days.
// WELCOME TO AMERICA!
Throughout the history of the program, the roster has featured several Canadian players with this year's team featuring a trio from north of the border in Claudia Eustaquio, Michelle Travassos and Cassie Wheldon. This year, though, a new country was added to the list with the arrival of Ying Zhan from Shenzhen, China. Along with the American and Canadian players that have appeared, only three other nations have been represented in program history, including Ana Farmer of Scotland (2004-06), Alana McShane of Northern Ireland (2013) and now Zhan.
// DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
Last year, UC won 12 matches, marking the fourth year in a row the team has won 10+ in a single season under Head Coach Neil Stafford. That streak ties for the second-best in program history and leaves the Bearcats one shy of equalling the all-time best. Currently, the four-year streak equals the 1980-83 and 1986-89 squads for second while the 1994-97 teams hold the mark with five in a row.
// CONTINUING TO IMPROVE
Before Stafford took over the program, UC had improved its season win percentage in two-consecutive seasons four times, with the most recent coming in 2000 (.727 from .447) and 2001 (.834 from .727). After the program finished with a win percentage of .250 in 2012 and Stafford came in, the team has raised its win percentage in all five seasons, posting marks of .425 (2013), .550 (2014), .646 (2015), .650 (2016) and .711 (2017).
// SORRY, THE GOAL IS CLOSED
One of the reasons the Bearcats have continued to raise its overall profile has been the outstanding defense it has played. In 2012, UC conceded 39 goals. Since then, that number has gone down every year under Stafford, reaching a miniscule total of 11 allowed in 2017, which tied for the fewest in a season. During that span, UC has allowed 37 (2013), 27 (2014), 22 (2015), 21 (2016) and 11 (2017).
// IN THE RPI
During the 2017 season, the Bearcats rose as high as #11 in the RPI data released by the NCAA, the highest ranking they have attained in program history. What is more impressive is where the program had come from. At the end of the 2012 season, Cincinnati's final RPI ranking was #227, meaning that, in the five years Stafford and his staff have guided the program, the Bearcats have clawed their way up 216 positions since the start of the 2013 season.
// ACADEMICALLY SOUND
Last year, the Bearcats collectively sported a 3.50 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, 28 of the 31 women on the roster recorded a 3.00 GPA or better during the 2017-18 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 2017-18 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.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats return home for the final time next week when they play host to Temple and UConn. First, UC will welcome the Owls to town for a 7 p.m. match Thursday, October 11, for the team's annual Pink Match. Then, the Bearcats and Huskies will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday, October 13, on Senior Day. Both matches will be held at Gettler Stadium and streamed for free live by BearcatsTV on GoBearcats.com.
The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team returns to the road this week with a trip through the Sunshine State with the Bearcats set to face rv/#25 USF Thursday night before closing the two-match road swing Sunday afternoon at UCF. The Bearcats (6-5-2/1-2-1 AAC) and Bulls (6-2-0/1-1-0) will meet in Tampa Thursday at 7 p.m. with the American Digital Network broadcasting the action from Corbett Stadium. Then, UC will meet the Knights (5-3-1/2-0-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
// 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. As always, fans are encouraged to join in the conversation using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// AMERICAN DIGITAL NETWORK
The American Digital Network will broadcast Thursday's match at USF live on Facebook at 7 p.m. Fans can access the feed by visiting Facebook.com/AmericanDigitalNetworkPlus. Lincoln Rose will be on the call with Kit McConnico providing analysis in the book and the Despina McLaughlin reporting from the sideline.
// QUICK SHOTS
• The Bearcats are 6-5-2 overall and 1-2-1 in the AAC after going 0-1-1 this past week at home, including a 0-3 loss to SMU and a 1-1 draw with Houston
• With the loss to the Mustangs, UC's 18-match home undefeated streak came a close with UC going 14-0-4 in that time. The last time the Bearcats had lost a home was a 2-0 decision to #18 UConn on October 27, 2016.
• With its come-from-behind draw with Houston Sunday, UC kept its 'Sunday Fun Day' streak alive, moving to 23-0-4 in Sunday afternoon home matches under Neil Stafford (2013-present)
• To earn the draw, Jill Vetere scored with two seconds remaining in regulation as she hit home a rebound off her saved penalty attempt that UC was awarded with four seconds left on the clock
• The Vetere goal ties for the second-latest regulation goal scored in program history and, since Stafford took over the program in 2013, is the latest regulation goal and the fifth-latest overall in that time frame
• For her efforts, Vetere was named to the weekly AAC Honor Roll, her second such selection in 2018 and third award this year after also being named the Offensive Player earlier this season
• In the latest release of the RPI rankings from the NCAA (Oct. 1), the Bearcats sit at #46 this week, the second-best in the AAC with only #14 Memphis ahead of UC. This week's foes, USF and UCF, rank #73 and #81, respectively.
// IN THE RANKINGS
UC is not ranked this week in either poll and sit ninth in the latest United Soccer Coaches South Region rankings. Memphis is currently ranked #18 in the Coaches poll and #24 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings while USF is receiving votes and ranked #25 in the two polls respectively.
// IN THE RPI
According to the latest NCAA RPI rankings, the Bearcats enter play this week ranked #46, the second-highest standing in the AAC behind only Memphis, who stands #14, the highest of any team on UC's schedule. This week's foes, USF and UCF, are ranked #73 and #81, respectively. Overall, the Bearcats' schedule features 12 teams that are currently ranked in the Top 100 of the RPI with four in the Top 25 (#14 Memphis, #18 Virginia, #20 Auburn & #25 Kansas).
// QUICK RECAP: OPENING HOME AAC WEEKEND
• UC played its first home conference matches of the year last weekend, falling to SMU, 3-0, before drawing with Houston, 1-1
• Madison Less recorded three saves in the match with the Mustangs that saw UC's 18 match home undefeated streak come to an end
• Against UH, Vetere scored on a rebound off a saved PK with two seconds remaining to force OT and an eventual 1-1 draw
• Claudia Eustaquio made six saves in the match as UC improved to 23-0-4 in Sunday home matches under Neil Stafford
// FEELING HONORED
Following the weekend, the AAC announced its weekly award winners with Jill Vetere being selected to the Honor Roll for the second time this season. So far this year, four Bearcats have earned placement on the weekly Honor Roll with Vetere's UC an Honor Roll selection in each of the four three weeks after Dee Picou (Sept. 24), Julia Abbott (Sept. 17) and Kiki Lowell (Sept. 10) with Vetere starting things August 27 with her first selection. Historically, Picou is the 17th different UC player to earn Honor Roll honors with that group collecting 39 total awards (including Vetere's second award). Vetere's selection this week also brings UC's total to nine awards earned in 2018 from the AAC, a list that includes four players of the week, including Vetere (Sept. 17) for offensive, Claudia Eustaquio (Sept. 10) & Madison Less (Sept. 17) for keeper and Brandi Thomsen (Aug. 20) for rookie.
// BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
With four seconds remaining in regulation against Houston, UC was awarded a spot kick that Vetere took and saw saved by the UH keeper with the rebound coming directly back to Vetere, who hammered home the follow up to tie the game with two seconds remaining. Historically, Vetere's goal ties her with Lisa Huth for the second-latest goal scored in regulation in program history after Huth tallied her goal against Loyola at 89:58 on October 10, 1992. The record is held by Paulette Angilecchia, who scored with one second remaining in a September 9, 1994, match with Wright State.
// MORE ON THE LATE GOAL
Vetere's goal at 89:58 marked the 12th goal scored in the 90' of play in program history and the third in the last three years. Included on the last minute list was an own goal from Boston University on September 5, 2016, that gave UC a 2-1 win and, most recently, a goal at 89:09 from Jaycie Brown, whose goal came on October 23, 2016, and tied the match at 2-2 the last time UC played at USF. Additionally, Vetere's goal is now the latest scored in regulation under Neil Stafford since he took over in 2013 and stands as the seventh-latest overall in his tenure when including six overtime-winning scores. Two of those OT winners were scored this year, including Vetere's tally at 98:46 to defeat Northern Kentucky (1-0) and Sophie Gorman's goal at 98:12 against Lipscomb (2-1).
// FIGHT TO THE FINISH
So far this year, the Bearcats have gone to the halftime locker room trailing, 1-0, six times in 13 matches. In those six contests, however, the Bearcats hold a 4-1-1 overall record, including a 3-0-1 mark when those matches are held in Cincinnati. At home, UC trailed Eastern Kentucky, Lipscomb, LSU and Houston at the break before fighting back. The Bearcats won the first three with the wins over EKU and LSU coming in regulation and the LU victory in overtime. The match with the Cougars ended in a 1-1 draw. Away from home, UC's loss came at #8 Virginia (3-0) before the Bearcats came back to win at Tulsa, 2-1.
// BUNCH SCORING
In the four matches won, 2-1, after trailing, 1-0, not only did the Bearcats come back to win, they did so three times by scoring in bunches. The goals in the LSU match came just 3:17 apart while the two goals against EKU were spaced by 4:38. The win at Tulsa came in a 5:48 spread, giving the Bearcats three groupings of back-to-back goals in under six minutes.
// KNOW THE FOE: USF
• The Bulls enter the week with a 6-2-0 overall record and stand 1-1-0 in the AAC after playing their first two league contests last week.
• With three points in AAC play, USF is currently 7th on the league table
• Eveleyne Viens currently leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring with 25 points on a league-high 11 goals scored.
• Sydney Martinez has seen a majority of the minutes in goal, allowing five goals and saving 15 shots for a 0.78 GAA and a .750 save percentage.
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-BULLS
• Cincinnati holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 11-10-4, and is undefeated in its last five (2-0-3).
• The Bulls have the advantage in Tampa with a 7-3-1 record with a 2-2 draw on October 23, 2016, the last meeting in Tampa, halting a four-match losing streak for the Bearcats.
• The last time the two teams met was September 24, 2017, with the Bearcats taking a 1-0 win in Cincinnati on Karli Royer's corner kick goal in the 88' of play.
// KNOW THE FOE: UCF
• The Knights enter the week with a 5-3-1 overall record and are 2-0-0 in AAC play after opening with wins at Temple and UConn last week.
• With six points, UCF is currently tied for third on the AAC table.
• Stefanie Sanders and Zandy Soree lead the scoring for the Knights as they have tallied 17 points (7 goals) and 14 points (6 goals), respectively.
• Vera Varis has played nearly every minute in goal for UCF, allowing 12 goals and stopping 29 shots for a 1.33 GAA and .707 save percentage.
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-KNIGHTS
• The all-time series between UC and UCF is tied, 3-3-2, with the Bearcats going 2-0-1 in the last three, including a scoreless draw last year in Cincinnati to open the AAC season.
• The Knights hold a slim 2-1-0 lead in matches played in Orlando with UC grabbing its first win in the last meeting at UCF, 2-0, on October 20, 2016.
// SEEING THE FIELD
So far this year, the coaching staff has sent a large number of players to the pitch. Including the three different keepers that have seen playing time, UC is averaging 21.3 players earning minutes each match this season, including playing 25 athletes twice (vs. Wright State, vs. Lipscomb).
// EARLY PLAY
Included in all the players being utilized are eight true freshmen, all of which have started at least one match this season with four of those players earning starting spots in four or more matches. Combined, the group is averaging just over 35 minutes played per contest in 2018 with Vanessa DiNardo and Brandi Thomsen both averaging just over 50 minutes per game.
// TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADERS
Jill Vetere continues to lead the team offensively as she has tallied 11 points on four goals and three assists, all of which are single-season highs in her career. She is the lone player with multiple assists this season and one of four with two or more goals in 2018. The three other players with two goals each include Sophie Gorman, Sydney Kilgore and Dee Picou with the later two also chipping in one assist. All five points recorded by Picou this year are the first points in her career, including the junior's first career game-winning goal scored.
// IN-TEN-T ON POINTS
Including the 1-1 draw with Houston, the Bearcats are now undefeated in their last 10 OT contests, posting a 1-0-9 record when playing past 90 minutes since dropping a 2-1 decision at Purdue in 2016. It marks the second time under Neil Stafford that the Bearcats have not lost in overtime in nine-consecutive matches with the first starting in the 2014 season with a 2-2 tie to visiting UC Santa Barbara and finished with a 2-1 win against visiting Dayton to start the 2016 season. The match that ended that streak? The 2-1 setback to Purdue in 2016. The current 10-match streak is the longest in school history, breaking the tie with Stafford's first streak and another nine-match streak from 1996-98 also joining in (5-0-4).
// HOME OVERTIME
When playing in home overtime matches, the Bearcats have been tough to beat recently as they are undefeated in their last 11, holding a 2-0-9 record. The last time UC lost in overtime at home came in 2013 in a 5-4 loss to Louisville. Prior to the current streak, the longest stretch of undefeated home overtime matches was six and came two times, first from 1996-98 (3-0-3) and then from 1999-03 (5-0-1). All told, the Bearcats are 18-19-29 all-time in home overtime contests.
// ALMOST OVER THE HILL
The 2018 season marks the 39th varsity campaign for the Bearcats program. Through the match with Houston, Cincinnati's all-time record stands at 387-281-63 (.573), including a mark of 197-101-30 at home, leaving the team just three wins away from the 200-victory milestone.
// HOME STREAK ENDS
Speaking of the success the Bearcats have enjoyed at home, the team recently saw an 18-match home undefeated streak come to an end with a 3-0 loss to SMU. The last time UC lost at home came in October 27, 2016, in a 2-0 set back to #18 UConn. Between those two losses, the Bearcats posted a 1-0-0 record the rest of the way in 2016, an 8-0-3 mark last year and were 5-0-1 this year prior to SMU's visit. Combined, the Bearcats 18-match streak saw them go 14-0-4 to build the second-longest home undefeated streak in program history behind a 23-match streak that ran from 1983-86.
// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season and including last week's matches with SMU and Houston, the Bearcats have played 54 home matches, posting a 36-7-11 record in that time (.769 win percentage). Including 2018, UC has won at least five home contests each season with eight in 2017, seven wins in 2014 and 2015, six in 2016 and four in 2013. Also, in that time, UC has out-scored its guests, 94-39 (+55). So far in 2018, the Bearcats are 5-1-2 at home and have out scored their opponents, 10-7.
// FRIENDLY CONFINES
In their first five seasons, Stafford and his staff accumulated 32 home wins, the most of any UC women's soccer coach in his/her first five seasons. Meridy Glenn's teams from 1983 to 1987 won 28 matches and posted a .843 win percentage (28-4-3) in her first five years. Expanding into the first six years, Glenn's teams won 34 home matches (34-5-3) while Stafford's Bearcats now have won 37 (37-6-5) thanks to a 5-1-2 start to 2018.
// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 27 times and hold an impressive 23-0-4 record in those matches after drawing with Houston this past weekend. In that span, the Bearcats have not only posted an impressive record, but also have outscored their foes, 54-13, while the defense has recorded 16 clean sheets. One more 'Sunday Fun Day' remains on the schedule in 2018: October 14 against UConn. The match also will be Senior Day.
// THAT'S A FIRST
Last past few week, several firsts were achieved by UC players, including:
• Dee Picou scored the game-tying goal against Lipscomb to net her first career score for the Bearcats, which came two weeks after she recorded her first career point and first career assist on the OT winner against NKU
• Julia Abbott's goal against LSU was not only her first of the year and third of her career, but also stands as her first career game-winning strike
• Freshman Vanessa DiNardo collected her first college point as she assisted on the winning goal against Lipscomb with a sweet back-heel pass to Vetere, who played into Sophie Gorman for the winning strike
• Bri Costigan assisted on the game-tying goal against LSU to pick-up her first point of the year and just her second career point after she assisted on a goal against Temple in 2016, the same match that started UC's current 18-match home undefeated streak
• Freshman Alli Pestaina earned her first career start, making her way into the Starting XI against Lipscomb
• Freshman Madison Lindsay also made her first career start as she was in the Starting XI against Houston last Sunday
// MORE FIRSTS
Speaking of firsts, when UC scored a 2-1 win at Tulsa (Sept. 23), it marked a pair of firsts, including the first win for the program at Tulsa in three tries and the first points the Bearcats have secured on that road trip. Since joining the AAC in 2013, the Bearcats have made the Memphis-Tulsa road trip three times (including 2018) and, in that time, had not recorded a point in any of the matches before the win over TU. Heading into that match, UC was 0-5-0.
// PRO UPDATE: BORDEAUX STANDS 3-0-1
Vanessa Gilles and her French Division 1 side Bordeaux have fared well in the early going of the 2018 campaign with the defender helping the Girondins to a 3-0-1 mark in FD1 play and third place on the table with 10 points behind Lyon (15) and PSG (13). Bordeaux is off until October 13 when they host EA Guingamp one week ahead of traveling to perennial favorite Lyon.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// AT THE HALF-WAY MARK
Nine matches into an 18-match regular season (end of the non-conference slate), the Bearcats posted a 5-3-1 record. With those five wins, the team has now won five or more nonconference matches for five years in a row now to break the record for consecutive seasons of four when the 1994-97 teams also accomplished the feat.
// SPOT ON
At the 11:38 mark at Auburn, Jill Vetere played the ball into the box and Brandi Thomsen was pulled down to earn a penalty kick for the Bearcats. Cassie Wheldon stepped up to the spot and coolly slotted her shot low and into the netting for a 1-0 lead. It was the first PK conversion for the Bearcats in over one year after Julie Gavorski scored from the spot on August 27, 2017, to secure a 1-0 win over visiting Miami (Fla.).
// BACK IN THE SCORING COLUMN
Wheldon's goal was the third of her career, but her first since 2015, her freshman campaign for the Bearcats. That year, she scored twice with the last coming October 18, 2015, when she knocked in the fourth and final goal of a 4-0 victory over visiting Evansville.
// RARE FINISH
The match at Auburn was the 725th in program history. In the 731 matches UC has played in its history, including the two last week, a match has only ended in a scoreless draw 22 times (0.03 percent). Of those 22 matches, seven have come in the last four seasons with two each in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons and once this year.
// MILESTONE MATCH
Of those 731 matches played, 330 have been played at home with the match against Lipscomb standing as both the 325th all-time home match in program history and the 250th played at Gettler Stadium. All-time, the Bearcats are 197-101-30 at home and sport a 138-87-27 record at Gettler Stadium/Meyers Field.
// PACKING THEM IN
The 1,194 fans that attended the Riverboat Rivalry match with Northern Kentucky (Aug. 26) ranks highly in program history attendance figures. That total stands as the sixth-largest home crowd in Bearcats history while also ranking as the 11th-largest UC has played before in its history. That attendance also means two of the Top 6 home crowds in UC history have come when the Norse have visited after the inaugural Riverboat Rivalry in 2016 drew 4,722 fans, a record for a women's college soccer game played in the state of Ohio.
// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
Nine true freshmen, one sophomore and a junior transfer make up this year's newest Bearcats. Junior Sydney Kilgore, a native of Cincinnati (Oak Hills HS) joins the program after playing for two years at Indiana while sophomore Ying Zhan, a native of China, is in her first year playing collegiate soccer. The rookies are comprised of four individuals from the Cincinnati area, including Emi Carlo (Lebanon HS), Kiley Keehan (Walnut Hills HS), Madison Lindsay (Lebanon HS) and Annie Metzger (Mason HS), three from the Cleveland area, including Vanessa DiNardo (Strongsville, Ohio), Camryn Hartman (Bay Village, Ohio) and Ally Sidloski (Strongsville, Ohio), and two others from outside of the state, including Wisconsin's Brandi Thomsen (Brookfield) and Massachusetts' Alli Pestaina (Brimfield).
// PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Two of the newcomers earned high honors ahead of joining the Bearcats. Brandi Thomsen twice earned player of the year honors in the state of Wisconsin, including being named the 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2017 Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year. Vanessa DiNardo also earned a state honor as she was tabbed as the 2017 Ohio Division I State Player of the Year.
// SAME SCHOOL
While local players joining the program often hail from the same high schools as upperclassmen is nothing new for a collegiate program or, like this year, two sets of two teammates joining the program at the same time (DiNardo/Sidloski from Strongsville and Carlo/Lindsay from Lebanon), the addition of Alli Pestaina to the team brings with it another connection. Before coming to UC, Pestaina, a native of Brimfield, Mass., attended Worcester Academy, the same academy head coach Stafford attended during his prep days.
// WELCOME TO AMERICA!
Throughout the history of the program, the roster has featured several Canadian players with this year's team featuring a trio from north of the border in Claudia Eustaquio, Michelle Travassos and Cassie Wheldon. This year, though, a new country was added to the list with the arrival of Ying Zhan from Shenzhen, China. Along with the American and Canadian players that have appeared, only three other nations have been represented in program history, including Ana Farmer of Scotland (2004-06), Alana McShane of Northern Ireland (2013) and now Zhan.
// DOUBLE DIGIT WINS
Last year, UC won 12 matches, marking the fourth year in a row the team has won 10+ in a single season under Head Coach Neil Stafford. That streak ties for the second-best in program history and leaves the Bearcats one shy of equalling the all-time best. Currently, the four-year streak equals the 1980-83 and 1986-89 squads for second while the 1994-97 teams hold the mark with five in a row.
// CONTINUING TO IMPROVE
Before Stafford took over the program, UC had improved its season win percentage in two-consecutive seasons four times, with the most recent coming in 2000 (.727 from .447) and 2001 (.834 from .727). After the program finished with a win percentage of .250 in 2012 and Stafford came in, the team has raised its win percentage in all five seasons, posting marks of .425 (2013), .550 (2014), .646 (2015), .650 (2016) and .711 (2017).
// SORRY, THE GOAL IS CLOSED
One of the reasons the Bearcats have continued to raise its overall profile has been the outstanding defense it has played. In 2012, UC conceded 39 goals. Since then, that number has gone down every year under Stafford, reaching a miniscule total of 11 allowed in 2017, which tied for the fewest in a season. During that span, UC has allowed 37 (2013), 27 (2014), 22 (2015), 21 (2016) and 11 (2017).
// IN THE RPI
During the 2017 season, the Bearcats rose as high as #11 in the RPI data released by the NCAA, the highest ranking they have attained in program history. What is more impressive is where the program had come from. At the end of the 2012 season, Cincinnati's final RPI ranking was #227, meaning that, in the five years Stafford and his staff have guided the program, the Bearcats have clawed their way up 216 positions since the start of the 2013 season.
// ACADEMICALLY SOUND
Last year, the Bearcats collectively sported a 3.50 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, 28 of the 31 women on the roster recorded a 3.00 GPA or better during the 2017-18 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 2017-18 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.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats return home for the final time next week when they play host to Temple and UConn. First, UC will welcome the Owls to town for a 7 p.m. match Thursday, October 11, for the team's annual Pink Match. Then, the Bearcats and Huskies will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday, October 13, on Senior Day. Both matches will be held at Gettler Stadium and streamed for free live by BearcatsTV on GoBearcats.com.