Tickets// THE OPENING WHISTLE
The final two home matches of the 2018 season are upon the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team this week as the Bearcats are set to play host to Temple Thursday night before closing out the home slate by welcoming UConn to Gettler Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats (6-7-2, 1-4-1 American Athletic Conference) and Owls (6-6-0, 2-2-0 AAC) will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in UC's annual Pink Match before the Bearcats and Huskies (2-11-0, 0-4-0 AAC) meet at 1 p.m. Sunday. Following Sunday's match, UC will recognize its four seniors: Tiffany Huber, Kaleigh Piscioneri, Jill Vetere and Cassie Wheldon.
// 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.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2018 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and, once again 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
All home matches in 2018 will once again 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 lacrosse, volleyball, tennis, soccer, swimming & diving and track & field home events.
// QUICK SHOTS
• The Bearcats are 6-7-2 overall and 1-4-1 in AAC play after dropping a pair of 2-1 scores on the road at #25 USF and UCF last week
• Thursday's match with Temple will be the team's annual Pink Match and all fans are encouraged to join the Bearcats in wearing pink at Gettler Stadium
• Sunday will be Senior Day with the program's four seniors being honored following the conclusion of the match
• The senior class has won 42 matches in their time at UC, tying it for the 14th-most in program history, while also helping UC to an AAC crown in 2015 when they were freshmen
• GK Madison Less was named to the AAC Honor Roll this week after recording a career-high 10 saves in a 2-1 loss at #25 USF Thursday
• In the same match, Bri Costigan scored her first career goal as she converted a PK
• Jill Vetere continues to add to her career year as she netted her fifth goal Sunday at UCF to increase her team lead in goals and points (13)
• UC is averaging 21.1 players used per match with an average of six of the Starting XI being freshmen and sophomores this year
• According to the latest NCAA data, the Bearcats enter the week ranked #61 in the RPI (third in the AAC) while playing the 16th toughest schedule in the nation (#1 in the AAC)
• The final Sunday Fun Day will be held this week against UConn with the Bearcats looking to build upon their 23-0-4 record in Sunday afternoon home matches under Neil Stafford (since 2013)
• UC enters the week with five home wins and is in need of one more to record at least six home victories in five consecutive season, breaking the tie with the 1999-02 clubs
// SENIOR SEND OFF
Sunday's match with UConn will also be Senior Day for the Bearcats as the program will honor four of its own at the conclusion of the match. The Class of 2018 features a trio of players from the 2015 American Athletic Conference championship team in Tiffany Huber, Kaleigh Piscioneri and Cassie Wheldon, along with two-year transfer player Jill Vetere.
// COLORFUL MATCHES
Thursday's match with Temple will be the Bearcats' annual Pink Match. Fans are encouraged to join the team in wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness. The first 200 fans in attendance also will receive a pink T-shirt. Then, on Sunday, the Bearcats will participate in the AAC's #Pow6rfulMinds campaign by wearing green shoe laces to show their support for mental health awareness.
// QUICK RECAP: ROAD TRIP TO FLORIDA
• The Bearcats dropped a pair of AAC matches on the road in the state of Florida last week by identical 2-1 scores at #25 USF and UCF
• In the opener, Bri Costigan scored her first career goal as she converted a penalty kick in the 77' and GK Madison Less stopped a career-high 10 shots
• In the second match of the weekend, Jill Vetere's fifth goal of the year - assisted by Sophie Gorman - put the Bearcats ahead in the 56', but UCF scored in the 85' to tie it before winning in the 101'
// WORKING OVERTIME
Sunday's loss at UCF marked the first time in five matches this year that the Bearcats lost in overtime. Previously, UC scored a 1-0 win over NKU and a 2-1 win over Lipscomb with both coming in the first overtime period. UC also played both #16 Kansas (0-0) and Houston (1-1) to draws.
// COMMON OUTCOME
For the sixth and seventh times this season, a match ended in a 2-1 score line with the Bearcats holding a 4-3-0 record in those matches. All four wins saw the Bearcats trailing, 1-0, at halftime before they bounced back to win, 2-1, while the losses at Notre Dame and UCF saw UC leading 1-0 in the match before suffering defeat.
// FIGHT TO THE FINISH
So far this year, the Bearcats have gone to the halftime locker room trailing, 1-0, six times in 15 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.
// FEELING HONORED
Following the weekend, the AAC announced its weekly award winners with Less being named to the Honor Roll following her career-high 10 saves at USF. It is her first Honor Roll selection this season and gives UC an Honor Roll award in each of the last five weeks: Less (Oct. 8), Jill Vetere (Oct. 1), Dee Picou (Sept. 24), Julia Abbott (Sept. 17) and Kiki Lowell (Sept. 10). All told (including Less' honor), the Bearcats have accumulated 10 awards in the 2018 season.
// IN THE RPI
In the latest RPI rankings released by the NCAA Monday, the Bearcats slipped to #61, the third-highest of all teams in the American behind #12 Memphis and #49 USF. So far this year, the Bearcats have faced 10 teams currently ranked in the Top 100 with #83 ECU still to come. That list also includes four foes currently in the Top 25, including #11 Virginia, #12 UM, #20 Auburn and #24 Kansas with #42 Notre Dame and #49 USF adding to the Top 50 list.
// ONE TOUGH SCHEDULE
According to the same NCAA data, the Bearcats have played the 16th-hardest schedule in the NCAA this year and the most difficult of all schedules among members of the AAC with UConn holding the second-toughest schedule at #36. In fact, of all the teams on Cincinnati's 2018 schedule, the Bearcats have played the toughest schedule with two other schools in the Top 50, including #26 Notre Dame and #43 Kansas.
// KNOW THE FOE: TEMPLE
• The Owls hold a 6-7-0 overall record and stand 2-2-0 in league play with their most recent match being a 1-0 upset of then-#19 USF at home (Sept. 30)
• Emma Wilkins leads the team in scoring with five goals and 10 points while Gabriela Johnson has netted four goals and added an assist for nine points
• Similar to the Bearcats, three keepers have seen action this year with Morgan Basileo leading the way, allowing 14 goals and recording 69 saves for a 1.21 GAA and 83.1 save percentage
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-OWLS
• Cincinnati holds a slim 3-2-0 lead in the all-time series and has the last two meetings in a row
• The series is tied, 1-1-0, when held in Cincinnati with the Bearcats winning the last meeting, 2-1, on October 30, 2016
• UC won last year in Philadelphia, 3-0, marking the first time in the five matches played in the series that the final score was not 2-1
// KNOW THE FOE: UCONN
• The Huskies enter the week with a 2-11-0 overall record and stand 0-4-0 in the AAC and are currently on a six-match losing skid
• Their match at ECU, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been rescheduled to October 28 with the effects of Hurricane Michael expected to be felt later this week in the Carolinas
• UConn is led offensively by Elena Santos, who has 10 points on four goals and two assists, with Sophia Danyko-Kulchycky netting four goals as well for eight points
• Defensively, Randi Palacios has seen much of the action in goal, allowing 30 goals and saving 58 shots for a 2.65 goals-against average and a 63.0 save percentage
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-HUSKIES
• UConn holds a slim 5-4-2 all-time lead in the series with the two teams trading wins in each of the last six matches
• UC won the last meeting, 1-0, in Storrs, Conn., last year (Sept. 28) for only the third shutout the Bearcats have recorded over the Huskies (2-0-1)
• The then #18-ranked Huskies won the last meeting in Cincinnati (Oct. 27, 2016), 2-0
// 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 21.1 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.
// YOUTH MOVEMENT
When looking at the Starting XI this year, more than half of the Bearcats are freshmen and sophomores with that group making up an average of 6.0 of the starters. Included in that group are an average of 2.5 true freshmen earning starts each match and 3.5 sophomores.
// OPENING HER ACCOUNT
Late in the match at USF, Bri Costigan was called upon to take a spot kick and converted the penalty with precision as she knocked the ball into the lower corner to cut the USF lead in half at 2-1. The goal, which was set up by rookie Vanessa DiNardo being brought down in the box, was the first of Costigan's career. The junior, who picked up an assist earlier this year, is one of six Bearcats in 2018 to record at least one goal and one assist. Ahead of this season, Costigan had recorded just one point as she recorded an assist in her freshman campaign of 2016.
// ADDED TO THE LIST
With her goal against the Bulls, Costigan also became the third different UC player to record her first career goal this season, joining rookie Brandi Thomsen and fellow junior Dee Picou. Thomsen recorded her score in the season-opener, netting the game-winner over Eastern Kentucky. Picou, who has two goals to her credit in 2018, scored her first against Lipscomb before adding her second at Tulsa. Her goal at TU also was the game-winner, the first of her career as well. Two other Bearcats scored their first goals since their freshmen years with senior Cassie Wheldon scoring for the first time since 2015 and Sydney Kilgore netting a goal for the first time since her rookie season at Indiana in 2016.
// VETERE-ING THINGS UP
Entering 2018, Jill Vetere's highest goal-scoring output came one year prior when she netted three goals for the Bearcats while her highest point total of seven (two goals, three assists) came in 2016, her final year at Louisville. This year, she has improved her career-high totals in both goals with five and points with 13 while also chipping a career-high-tying three helpers. Vetere's totals give her nearly one-third of the team's goals (16) and one-quarter of the assists (11) in 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 two weeks ago. 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.
// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season and including the most recent home 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.
// ALMOST OVER THE HILL
The 2018 season marks the 39th varsity campaign for the Bearcats program. Through the match with UCF, Cincinnati's all-time record stands at 387-283-63 (.571), including a mark of 197-101-30 at home, leaving the team just three wins away from the 200-victory milestone.
// ON THE SPOT
Bri Costigan's spot kick conversion against USF last week marked the second penalty scored by the Bearcats this year after Cassie Wheldon scored at Auburn earlier this season. The first goal of Costigan's career also marked the first PK converted by UC in a conference match in nearly two years. The last time it happened was October 16, 2016, when Julie Gavorski scored against SMU in a 2-0 victory.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
With four seconds remaining in regulation against Houston, UC was awarded a spot kick that Jill 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).
// 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.
// 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.
// 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.
// 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.
// 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
Following a week off from competition, the Bearcats will close out the final day of the regular season with a trip to ECU for a 7 p.m. match Friday, October 26. That day will be the final day of the regular season for all 10 teams in the AAC as the travel partners will play one another to set the field of six teams for the AAC Tournament. The match ups include 7 p.m. starts for UC at ECU, UConn at Temple and UCF at USF with 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) starts for SMU at Houston and Tulsa at Memphis.
The final two home matches of the 2018 season are upon the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team this week as the Bearcats are set to play host to Temple Thursday night before closing out the home slate by welcoming UConn to Gettler Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Bearcats (6-7-2, 1-4-1 American Athletic Conference) and Owls (6-6-0, 2-2-0 AAC) will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in UC's annual Pink Match before the Bearcats and Huskies (2-11-0, 0-4-0 AAC) meet at 1 p.m. Sunday. Following Sunday's match, UC will recognize its four seniors: Tiffany Huber, Kaleigh Piscioneri, Jill Vetere and Cassie Wheldon.
// 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.
// GOING LIVE
All home matches in 2018 will once again be streamed live on GoBearcats.com and, once again 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
All home matches in 2018 will once again 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 lacrosse, volleyball, tennis, soccer, swimming & diving and track & field home events.
// QUICK SHOTS
• The Bearcats are 6-7-2 overall and 1-4-1 in AAC play after dropping a pair of 2-1 scores on the road at #25 USF and UCF last week
• Thursday's match with Temple will be the team's annual Pink Match and all fans are encouraged to join the Bearcats in wearing pink at Gettler Stadium
• Sunday will be Senior Day with the program's four seniors being honored following the conclusion of the match
• The senior class has won 42 matches in their time at UC, tying it for the 14th-most in program history, while also helping UC to an AAC crown in 2015 when they were freshmen
• GK Madison Less was named to the AAC Honor Roll this week after recording a career-high 10 saves in a 2-1 loss at #25 USF Thursday
• In the same match, Bri Costigan scored her first career goal as she converted a PK
• Jill Vetere continues to add to her career year as she netted her fifth goal Sunday at UCF to increase her team lead in goals and points (13)
• UC is averaging 21.1 players used per match with an average of six of the Starting XI being freshmen and sophomores this year
• According to the latest NCAA data, the Bearcats enter the week ranked #61 in the RPI (third in the AAC) while playing the 16th toughest schedule in the nation (#1 in the AAC)
• The final Sunday Fun Day will be held this week against UConn with the Bearcats looking to build upon their 23-0-4 record in Sunday afternoon home matches under Neil Stafford (since 2013)
• UC enters the week with five home wins and is in need of one more to record at least six home victories in five consecutive season, breaking the tie with the 1999-02 clubs
// SENIOR SEND OFF
Sunday's match with UConn will also be Senior Day for the Bearcats as the program will honor four of its own at the conclusion of the match. The Class of 2018 features a trio of players from the 2015 American Athletic Conference championship team in Tiffany Huber, Kaleigh Piscioneri and Cassie Wheldon, along with two-year transfer player Jill Vetere.
// COLORFUL MATCHES
Thursday's match with Temple will be the Bearcats' annual Pink Match. Fans are encouraged to join the team in wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness. The first 200 fans in attendance also will receive a pink T-shirt. Then, on Sunday, the Bearcats will participate in the AAC's #Pow6rfulMinds campaign by wearing green shoe laces to show their support for mental health awareness.
// QUICK RECAP: ROAD TRIP TO FLORIDA
• The Bearcats dropped a pair of AAC matches on the road in the state of Florida last week by identical 2-1 scores at #25 USF and UCF
• In the opener, Bri Costigan scored her first career goal as she converted a penalty kick in the 77' and GK Madison Less stopped a career-high 10 shots
• In the second match of the weekend, Jill Vetere's fifth goal of the year - assisted by Sophie Gorman - put the Bearcats ahead in the 56', but UCF scored in the 85' to tie it before winning in the 101'
// WORKING OVERTIME
Sunday's loss at UCF marked the first time in five matches this year that the Bearcats lost in overtime. Previously, UC scored a 1-0 win over NKU and a 2-1 win over Lipscomb with both coming in the first overtime period. UC also played both #16 Kansas (0-0) and Houston (1-1) to draws.
// COMMON OUTCOME
For the sixth and seventh times this season, a match ended in a 2-1 score line with the Bearcats holding a 4-3-0 record in those matches. All four wins saw the Bearcats trailing, 1-0, at halftime before they bounced back to win, 2-1, while the losses at Notre Dame and UCF saw UC leading 1-0 in the match before suffering defeat.
// FIGHT TO THE FINISH
So far this year, the Bearcats have gone to the halftime locker room trailing, 1-0, six times in 15 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.
// FEELING HONORED
Following the weekend, the AAC announced its weekly award winners with Less being named to the Honor Roll following her career-high 10 saves at USF. It is her first Honor Roll selection this season and gives UC an Honor Roll award in each of the last five weeks: Less (Oct. 8), Jill Vetere (Oct. 1), Dee Picou (Sept. 24), Julia Abbott (Sept. 17) and Kiki Lowell (Sept. 10). All told (including Less' honor), the Bearcats have accumulated 10 awards in the 2018 season.
// IN THE RPI
In the latest RPI rankings released by the NCAA Monday, the Bearcats slipped to #61, the third-highest of all teams in the American behind #12 Memphis and #49 USF. So far this year, the Bearcats have faced 10 teams currently ranked in the Top 100 with #83 ECU still to come. That list also includes four foes currently in the Top 25, including #11 Virginia, #12 UM, #20 Auburn and #24 Kansas with #42 Notre Dame and #49 USF adding to the Top 50 list.
// ONE TOUGH SCHEDULE
According to the same NCAA data, the Bearcats have played the 16th-hardest schedule in the NCAA this year and the most difficult of all schedules among members of the AAC with UConn holding the second-toughest schedule at #36. In fact, of all the teams on Cincinnati's 2018 schedule, the Bearcats have played the toughest schedule with two other schools in the Top 50, including #26 Notre Dame and #43 Kansas.
// KNOW THE FOE: TEMPLE
• The Owls hold a 6-7-0 overall record and stand 2-2-0 in league play with their most recent match being a 1-0 upset of then-#19 USF at home (Sept. 30)
• Emma Wilkins leads the team in scoring with five goals and 10 points while Gabriela Johnson has netted four goals and added an assist for nine points
• Similar to the Bearcats, three keepers have seen action this year with Morgan Basileo leading the way, allowing 14 goals and recording 69 saves for a 1.21 GAA and 83.1 save percentage
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-OWLS
• Cincinnati holds a slim 3-2-0 lead in the all-time series and has the last two meetings in a row
• The series is tied, 1-1-0, when held in Cincinnati with the Bearcats winning the last meeting, 2-1, on October 30, 2016
• UC won last year in Philadelphia, 3-0, marking the first time in the five matches played in the series that the final score was not 2-1
// KNOW THE FOE: UCONN
• The Huskies enter the week with a 2-11-0 overall record and stand 0-4-0 in the AAC and are currently on a six-match losing skid
• Their match at ECU, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been rescheduled to October 28 with the effects of Hurricane Michael expected to be felt later this week in the Carolinas
• UConn is led offensively by Elena Santos, who has 10 points on four goals and two assists, with Sophia Danyko-Kulchycky netting four goals as well for eight points
• Defensively, Randi Palacios has seen much of the action in goal, allowing 30 goals and saving 58 shots for a 2.65 goals-against average and a 63.0 save percentage
// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-HUSKIES
• UConn holds a slim 5-4-2 all-time lead in the series with the two teams trading wins in each of the last six matches
• UC won the last meeting, 1-0, in Storrs, Conn., last year (Sept. 28) for only the third shutout the Bearcats have recorded over the Huskies (2-0-1)
• The then #18-ranked Huskies won the last meeting in Cincinnati (Oct. 27, 2016), 2-0
// 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 21.1 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.
// YOUTH MOVEMENT
When looking at the Starting XI this year, more than half of the Bearcats are freshmen and sophomores with that group making up an average of 6.0 of the starters. Included in that group are an average of 2.5 true freshmen earning starts each match and 3.5 sophomores.
// OPENING HER ACCOUNT
Late in the match at USF, Bri Costigan was called upon to take a spot kick and converted the penalty with precision as she knocked the ball into the lower corner to cut the USF lead in half at 2-1. The goal, which was set up by rookie Vanessa DiNardo being brought down in the box, was the first of Costigan's career. The junior, who picked up an assist earlier this year, is one of six Bearcats in 2018 to record at least one goal and one assist. Ahead of this season, Costigan had recorded just one point as she recorded an assist in her freshman campaign of 2016.
// ADDED TO THE LIST
With her goal against the Bulls, Costigan also became the third different UC player to record her first career goal this season, joining rookie Brandi Thomsen and fellow junior Dee Picou. Thomsen recorded her score in the season-opener, netting the game-winner over Eastern Kentucky. Picou, who has two goals to her credit in 2018, scored her first against Lipscomb before adding her second at Tulsa. Her goal at TU also was the game-winner, the first of her career as well. Two other Bearcats scored their first goals since their freshmen years with senior Cassie Wheldon scoring for the first time since 2015 and Sydney Kilgore netting a goal for the first time since her rookie season at Indiana in 2016.
// VETERE-ING THINGS UP
Entering 2018, Jill Vetere's highest goal-scoring output came one year prior when she netted three goals for the Bearcats while her highest point total of seven (two goals, three assists) came in 2016, her final year at Louisville. This year, she has improved her career-high totals in both goals with five and points with 13 while also chipping a career-high-tying three helpers. Vetere's totals give her nearly one-third of the team's goals (16) and one-quarter of the assists (11) in 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 two weeks ago. 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.
// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season and including the most recent home 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.
// ALMOST OVER THE HILL
The 2018 season marks the 39th varsity campaign for the Bearcats program. Through the match with UCF, Cincinnati's all-time record stands at 387-283-63 (.571), including a mark of 197-101-30 at home, leaving the team just three wins away from the 200-victory milestone.
// ON THE SPOT
Bri Costigan's spot kick conversion against USF last week marked the second penalty scored by the Bearcats this year after Cassie Wheldon scored at Auburn earlier this season. The first goal of Costigan's career also marked the first PK converted by UC in a conference match in nearly two years. The last time it happened was October 16, 2016, when Julie Gavorski scored against SMU in a 2-0 victory.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
With four seconds remaining in regulation against Houston, UC was awarded a spot kick that Jill 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).
// 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.
// 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.
// 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.
// 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.
// 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
Following a week off from competition, the Bearcats will close out the final day of the regular season with a trip to ECU for a 7 p.m. match Friday, October 26. That day will be the final day of the regular season for all 10 teams in the AAC as the travel partners will play one another to set the field of six teams for the AAC Tournament. The match ups include 7 p.m. starts for UC at ECU, UConn at Temple and UCF at USF with 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) starts for SMU at Houston and Tulsa at Memphis.