CINCINNATI - Han Tang collected her first collegiate goal to put the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team ahead, but the Bearcats were unable to hold on as the host Missouri Tigers netted a pair of goals late in the match to take a 2-1 win in Columbia, Mo., Thursday night. The loss, UC's second in a row, drops the Bearcats to 1-2-0 on the year while the Tigers improved to 3-0-0.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati fell to 1-2-0 overall in 2019 while Missouri remained undefeated at 3-0-0
• Tonight's match was the first in the series between the two programs
• Han Tang scored the Bearcats' only goal as she recorded her first collegiate score and first collegiate points
• Ying Zhan assisted on the goal to earn her first career assist and first career point as a collegiate player
• Karli Royer earned the start tonight, seeing her first action since the end of 2017 season after sitting 2018 with an injury
• Weather was once again an issue as the match was delayed two and one-half hours, starting at 9:30 p.m. CT instead of the planned 7 p.m. CT, because of lightning in the area
// ACCOUNT OPENED
In the 34', the Bearcats were applying pressure and drew a foul, setting up a free kick in their attacking third. With the rain pouring down, Zhan stepped up to the ball and slipped a pass to the top of the box where Tang was unmarked. The freshman collected the pass, moved in and sent a sharp shot into the lower corner, putting the Bearcats up 1-0. The goal is Tang's first as a collegian and makes her the second UC player to score this year after Vanessa DiNardo tallied a pair in the season opener.
// CHINA CONNECTION
The goal was set up by a pass from Zhan, who also opened her account with the Bearcats. The assist is the first of her career at UC and also stands as her first point tallied as well.
// BACK IN ACTION
Royer, who missed all of the 2018 season, was back in action tonight as she not only earned a spot in the starting lineup, she also logged 54 minutes. The last time she saw action came November 1, 2017, when she logged 64 minutes in the first round of the AAC Tournament against SMU.
// SOMETHING AGAINST THURSDAY?
Apparently Mother Nature and the Bearcats can't get along on Thursday nights. So far this year, the Bearcats have played two matches on Thursday with both seeing weather delays involving lightning. In the opener against St. John's, the Bearcats played 16 minutes before sitting for 95 minutes as a storm rolled through Harrisonburg, Va. Then, tonight, the team endured two delays before the kickoff, adding up to 160 minutes of delays.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats will play their first home match of the 2019 season this Sunday as they will welcome Western Michigan to Gettler Stadium for a 6 p.m. kick. The match will be streamed live on GoBearcats.com with Matt Noonan and BearcatsTV providing the action for free.
Tang Nets First Goal in 2-1 Loss at Missouri
Han Tang collected her first collegiate goal to put the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team ahead, but the Bearcats were unable to hold on as the host Missouri Tigers netted a pair of goals late in the match to take a 2-1 win in Columbia, Mo., Thursday night.
