Women’s Soccer Lifts the Lid on 2019 Thursday

// THE OPENING WHISTLE
The 2019 women's soccer season gets underway this week as the University of Cincinnati will open its 40th varsity campaign Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with a neutral site match against St. John's. The Bearcats and Red Storm will be playing in the opening match of James Madison's Fairfield Inn by Marriott Invitational in Harrisonburg, Va.

// 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.

// QUICK SHOTS
• The Bearcats will be playing in their 40th varsity campaign this year, building a 387-286-64 record in their previous 39 years dating back to the start of the 1980 season
• Cincinnati finished the 2018 season 6-9-3 overall and 1-6-2 in the American Athletic Conference
• The Bearcats were picked to place sixth in the AAC Coaches' Preseason Poll for 2019
• Individually, Vanessa DiNardo, a unanimous selection to the AAC All-Rookie Team last year, earned Preseason AAC All-Conference honors for 2019
• The 2019 schedule will see UC play nine home, eight road and one neutral site match
• In those 18 matches, the Bearcats are set to face four teams ranked in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25: #10 Tennessee, #18 USF, #20 Memphis and #25 Virginia Tech
• Also on the schedule is the return of the Queen City Derby as Xavier will visit UC on Sunday, September 15, inside Nippert Stadium at 6 p.m., the first meeting of the two crosstown rivals since the 2015 season (0-0 draw)
• Heading into the year, the Bearcats need just three home victories for 200 in their career, a feat that would be more impressive as 2019 is the University's bicentennial (founded in 1819)
• UC also is 13 wins shy of recording its 400th career victory
• The 2019 roster is comprised of 33 players, more than half of which are sophomores (10) and freshmen (8) while the team also had eight seniors and seven sophomores
• The newcomers to the program number nine, a list that includes seven freshmen and two sophomores, both of which are transfers from Louisville

// KNOW THE FOE: ST. JOHN'S
• The Red Storm posted a 9-9-1 overall record in 2018 and were 5-3-1 in the Big East
• SJU competed in the Big East Tournament, falling to Providence, 1-0, in the first round
• Last year's leading scorer, Zsani Kajan, returns after netting 11 goals and 2 assists for 24 points
• GK Meredith Reinhardt, who was 8-7-1 with 4 shutouts in 2018, returns this year as well

// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-RED STORM
• Cincinnati leads the all-time series with St. John's, 3-1-0, and has won the last three matches
• All four of those matches came as members of the Big East as well
• Every match ended in a 1-0 score with UC losing at home in 2006 before winning at SJU in the 2008 Big East Tournament and at SJU in 2009 before taking a double-overtime victory at home in 2012

// LAST TIME OUT: 2012
• The last time the two teams met was September 21, 2012, in Cincinnati with UC winning, 1-0 (2ot)
• The match nearly ended in a draw, but UC's Laura Rose (freshman) scored with 2 seconds remaining in double overtime for the victory
• That goal stands as the sixth-latest to be scored in UC history and the latest scored for the Bearcats in a 110-minute, double overtime match (the other five times all came when overtimes were two, 15 minutes periods instead of today's two, 10-minute periods)

// NOTING OPENERS
• Cincinnati is 26-12-1 (.679) all-time in its first match of the season and has won three in a row
• Last year, the Bearcats fell behind early to Eastern Kentucky and battled a torrential downpour to come from behind and secure a 2-1 victory
• The match with St. John's will mark just the second time in 40 years the season opener is at a neutral site with the first coming in 2004, a 0-2 setback to New Mexico in West Lafayette, Ind. (Purdue)
• In their first neutral-site contest of the year, the Bearcats hold an all-time mark of 14-11-6 (.548)
• UC lost its last neutral contest, a 0-1 defeat to SMU, in the 2017 AAC Tournament

// PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
Ahead of the season, the coaches of the American Athletic Conference voted on several things, including how they think each team will finish in the regular-season standings. In that poll, the Bearcats were voted to place sixth and earn the final spot in the 2019 AAC Tournament. USF (76 points) and Memphis (74) both received four first-place votes in what the coaches feel will be a tight race for the top of the table. UCF, SMU and ECU were picked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with UConn, Houston, Temple and Tulsa all placed behind the Bearcats.

// FEELING HONORED
As part of their voting, the coaches also selected preseason all-conference players with UC's Vanessa DiNardo, a unanimous selection to last year's AAC All-Rookie Team, earning a spot on the 2019 list. With her selection, DiNardo gave UC a preseason honoree for the fourth year in a row after not having a representative on the lists in the first three years of the league.

// LORDY, LORDY... LOOK WHO'S 40!
The 2019 season will mark the 40th season of play for the Bearcats as a varsity program. Begun in 1980, the Bearcats have compiled an overall record of 387-286-64 in the first 39 years on campus and have captured seven conference tournament crowns and two regular season titles to go along with seven NCAA appearances.

// ANOTHER BIRTHDAY
With an overall record of 197-102-31 in home matches in the history of the program, this year's team is three home wins away from 200. Reaching 200 home wins would be very fitting for this year as 2019 marks the University's bicentennial after being founded in 1819.

// LOOKING BACK: PROGRAM HISTORY
• UC's first varsity season came in 1980 with Janet Lines' first-year program posting a 12-2-0 record
• The Bearcats also won the inaugural Midwest Intercollegiate Women's Soccer League (MIWSL) tournament that was in Oxford, Ohio
• In 1981, the team competed in the AIAW National Tournament, posting a 1-2-0 record
• 1983 saw Meridy Glenn take the reigns and lead the team for the next 25 years, starting things off with the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1983 (L at California)
• In 1994, the Bearcats captured the Great Midwest Conference crown for the first time - and the first of four years in a row - and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell at Vanderbilt, 2-3 (3ot)
• In 1997, the Bearcats not only won Conference USA and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, they earned the right to host the first round and defeated Georgia State, 2-1, in Cincinnati
• 2001 saw UC's best season as the Bearcats went 20-4-0, won 13 in a row and won two NCAA matches, including 3-2 over Oakland and 3-2 over #6 Notre Dame, to reach the Sweet 16, the deepest tournament run in program history
• 2008 saw Michelle Salmon take over the program after Glenn's retirement, a five-year span that saw the Bearcats complete their time in the Big East before moving to the American
• In 2013, Neil Stafford took over at UC and, in his third year (2015), helped the Bearcats to the AAC Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002

// LOOKING BACK: 2018 SEASON
• Cincinnati finished the 2018 season with a 6-9-3 overall record and were 10th in the AAC at 1-6-2
• Jill Vetere (graduated) led the team with six goals, four assists and 16 points on her way to being named AAC All-Conference Second Team
• UC was 5-2-3 at home on the year, including a scoreless draw with #16 Kansas

// LOOKING AHEAD: 2019 SEASON
The Bearcats are slated to play 18 matches in the regular season this year with nine being played at home, eight on the road and one at a neutral site. According to the preseason Top 25 released by the United Soccer Coaches, five opponents appear in the rankings, including four in the Top 25 and one receiving votes. At home this year, the Bearcats will play host to #18 USF and #20 Memphis while traveling to face #10 Tennessee, #25 Virginia Tech and SMU, who is receiving votes. The matches at both UT and VT will be the second time UC has faced those foes with the first meetings taking place at the opponents' home facility and both coming in the opening round of an NCAA Tournament.

// QUEEN CITY DERBY
Crosstown rival Xavier is back on the schedule for the first time since 2015 with former UC assistant coach Nate Lie set to bring his Musketeers to Nippert Stadium on Sunday, September 15. The match was moved to the historic stadium and current home park of MLS side FC Cincinnati as both schools will look to not only renew their rivalry, but do so in front of a record crowd. In 2016, the Bearcats played host to neighbor Northern Kentucky in what was dubbed the Riverboat Rivalry. That Sunday night, 4,722 fans flocked to Nippert Stadium to set the all-time attendance record for a UC match as well as a collegiate women's soccer match in the state of Ohio. This year, both teams are hoping the Queen City Derby will bring out strong fan bases from both sides of town and add to the growing soccer legacy building inside Nippert Stadium that not has seen MLS matches this year, but visits from both the US Women's National Team (2018) and US Men's National Team (2019).

// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 28 times and hold an impressive 23-1-4 record in those matches. In that span, the Bearcats have not only posted an impressive record, but also have outscored their foes, 54-17, while the defense has recorded 16 clean sheets. The Bearcats will have four home Sunday matches this year, including the home opener against Western Michigan on Sunday, September 1.

// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played 56 home matches, posting a 36-8-12 record in that time (.750 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). In 2018, the Bearcats went 5-2-3 at home, but were out scored by their opponents, 12-13 (-1).

// 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 won 36 (36-8-12) thanks to a 5-2-3 home record in 2018.

// WELCOME BACK!
The 2019 roster will feature 33 players, 24 of which are returning from last year's team. That list included eight seniors, seven juniors, eight sophomores and one redshirt freshman.

// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
Nine players on the roster this year are newcomers, including seven freshmen and two sophomore transfers (see below). The rookies include Ashley Barron (Toledo, Ohio), Kendall Battle (St. Louis, Mo.), Abby Delprincipe (Avon, Ohio), Julia Flake (Sparta, N.J.), Rachael Lutter (Sugar Grove, Ill.), Maddy Pittman (Harrison, Ohio) and Han Tang (Chengdu, China).

// GOING GLOBAL
Tang is the second Chinese player to join the Bearcats in the past two seasons, following Ying Zahn, who played for UC last year. Tang brings a wealth of experience as she has played in the Chinese Youth National system for the past five years.

// WELCOME HOME!
Two of the newcomers are transfers with both Morgan Jackson and Taylor Nuncio returning home after one year at Louisville. Both players are from Cincinnati with Jackson, the younger sister of former Bearcats player Taylor Jackson, playing her high school soccer at Indian Hills while Nuncio played at Loveland. Both players will have three years of eligibility with the Bearcats.

// DOB ON THEM
The players are not the only newcomers to the program this year as Maddie Dobyns joined the coaching staff. Dobyns, a former goalkeeper for Kansas, played for the Jayhawks from 2013-17 and appeared in 60 matches during her time. A recipient of two degrees from KU, Dobyns served as the team's director of operations last year before coming to Cincinnati to continue her coaching career.

// BRANCHING OUT
Last year, Matt Cosinuke was on staff at UC before being named the new head coach for women's soccer at Eastern Kentucky in the offseason. With his hiring, Cosinuke is now the seventh different assistant coach under Neil Stafford to take over his/her own program and the fourth to currently manage a Division I program with the others including Nate Lie (Xavier), Ian Carry (Kentucky) and Matt Kagan (Oregon State).

// BACK FOR MORE
Neil Stafford is entering his seventh year as the gaffer at UC and his 17th overall in the collegiate ranks as well. In his first six years in Clifton, the Bearcats have compiled a 60-44-18 mark. For his career, Stafford holds a record of 162-115-37 overall. Stafford, just the fifth head coach in the program's 40-year history, ranks second all-time in wins at UC with Meridy Glenn having recorded 256 in her 25-year stay.

// PRO POWER
Three former players under Stafford are currently playing professionally overseas. Here is some of the latest on those three:
• Katy Couperus: Capalaba FC (Brisbane, Australia), Australian Second Division... season started in February and will finish with the playoffs in September... currently sits third on the table after being near the bottom of the league last year (12 teams)
• Julie Gavorski: Fjarðab/Höttur/Leiknir (East Coast Iceland), Icelandic Second Division... season started in May... currently leads the league in scoring and goals... team is in the Top 3 currently after finishing at the bottom of the table each of the last two years
• Vanessa Gilles: Girondins de Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), French Top Division... season just started... team finished fourth last year behind powerhouse Lyon among others... was called into Canada's national team camp and rostered twice but did not see action... also played for the France B team, but still can play for her native Canada as well

// ACADEMICALLY SOUND
Annually, the program has a goal of reaching a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.51 or better. Last year, they blew that mark away as the team broke its program record with a 3.813 GPA for the year. Not only did the team have the best GPA in program history, it had the best of any women's soccer program in the American Athletic, which earned them the AAC's Team Excellence Award. In the Spring semester alone, 29 Bearcats posted a 3.0 or better GPA while 28 maintained a 3.4 or better GPA. Additionally, 10 players, the most of any team on campus (football had seven) posted perfect 4.0 GPAs for the semester to be named TopCats.

// UP NEXT
The Bearcats remain on the road for their next match as they will venture to Blacksburg, Va., to face #25 Virginia Tech Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the ACC Network.