CINCINNATI - Madison Less recorded a career-high-tying 10 saves to keep it close, but it was not enough as #25 Virginia Tech scored once in each half to claim a 2-0 victory Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. The Bearcats (1-1-0) lost for the first time on the young season while the Hokies (2-0-0) remained undefeated and have not allowed a goal.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati fell to 1-1-0 on the year while Virginia Tech improved to 2-0-0
• The Hokies now lead the all-time series, 2-0-0, after winning the previous meeting, an NCAA First Round game in Blacksburg in 2015
• With the loss, the Bearcats are now 21-16-3 in their first road game of the season all-time
• Less tied a career-high with 10 saves, equaling her previous best from a 2-1 loss at USF last year (10/4/18)
• For the second match in a row, the Bearcats employed a deep bench, this time seeing 22 players log minutes after playing 21 against St. John's in the season-opener Thursday night
• VT out-shot UC, 18-3, as the hosts fired nine shots each half as Less recorded six saves in the first half and four in the second
// NEIL'S NOTES
"We're all a little disappointed with the performance today as I'm not sure we gave it our best against a very good Virginia Tech side," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "We lacked mentality which, unfortunately, allowed Virginia Tech to impose their will on us. We were a much better side mentally and emotionally Thursday and our play against St. John's showed that. We were full of confidence and really buzzing around the field, linking up and getting on the end of second balls. Today, we couldn't get out of second gear and therefore looked slow to things, especially in the first half. We were a bit more enthused with the second half, but still lacked enough to really trouble Virginia Tech. This non-conference schedule is a great opportunity for us to learn more about ourselves and to address some of the finer details in the game. Now, we'll re-group and get ready for Missouri on Thursday."
// LESS WITH MORE
One of the bright spots of the match for the Bearcats was the stellar play in goal by Less. The redshirt junior stopped six shots in the first half and then added four more in the second half to finish the day with 10 saves, which tied her career-high for a single match. The first time she recorded double-digit saves came October 4, 2018, when she halted 10 shots in a 2-1 loss at USF.
// MORE FROM LESS
With today's showing, Less has now recorded a career-high in saves eight times in her career with five instances of that career-best producing at least seven stops. She first reached seven stops at home in a 0-0 tie with #16 UCF on September 21, 2017, and made it eight saves in another scoreless home draw, this time with Memphis (October 15, 2017). Last year, she tied her best with eight stops in a 2-1 victory over visiting LSU (September 16) before halting 10 against the Bulls less than one month later.
// STRONG IMPRESSIONS
Two newcomers patrolled the back line most of the match and broke up scoring attempts throughout the match to help keep the Hokies off the board. Morgan Jackson started and played the full 90 in her second career match with the Bearcats after playing just nine matches with Louisville last year. Her running mate much of the match was true freshman Ashley Barron, who played 76 tough minutes after playing the full 90 Thursday night.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats will venture to Columbia, Mo., Thursday for a 7 p.m. local (8 p.m. ET) match with Missouri to wrap a season-opening stretch of three matches away from home. The match will be streamed live on the SEC Network (ESPN+).
Bearcats Fall, 2-0, at #25 Virginia Tech
Madison Less recorded a career-high-tying 10 saves to keep it close, but it was not enough as 25 Virginia Tech scored once in each half to claim a 2-0 victory Sunday in Blacksburg, Va.
