Bearcats Set to Face #20 Tennessee Sunday

// THE OPENING WHISTLE
The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team returns to the road this weekend for its first of two contests in the Volunteer State as the Bearcats (1-4-0) will take on #20 Tennessee (4-1-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn. 

// GOING LIVE
Sunday's match will be streamed live on SEC Network+ via ESPN's streaming platform. Live stats will also be available on Tennessee's website, UTSports.com.

// QUICK SHOTS
• Cincinnati is 1-4-0 on the year after its 2-0 home loss to Northwestern Thursday night
• The Bearcats are playing in their 40th varsity campaign this year, holding a 388-290-64 all-time record starting in 1980 and including Thursday's match with the Wildcats
• Under Stafford (since 2013 season), UC has posted a 37-10-12 home record
• The Bearcats, who average 21 players per match, continue to utilize the depth of their roster as 22 players saw action Thursday night, tying for the most appearances in a match this season
• Additionally, 25 different Bearcats (24 field, 1 GK) have earned minutes on the pitch in 2019 with almost half (12) being freshmen and sophomores
• After two matches on the road in Tennessee this week (Sunday and Thursday), the Bearcats will return home September 15 to play host to Xavier in the Queen City Derby inside Nippert Stadium at 7 p.m. The teams will be looking to break the attendance record for a women's collegiate soccer match in the state of Ohio set by UC in 2016 with 4,722 fans (vs. NKU).

// KNOW THE FOE: TENNESSEE
• The Volunteers are ranked #20 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 rankings and sport a 4-1-0 record, including a 3-0-0 mark at home
• UT holds a 11-2 edge in goals scored this year and has posted three shutouts, including the last two matches in a row (3-0 at Columbia & 2-0 at home over SE Louisiana)
• Eight different players have scored at least one goal with the trio of MA Vignola, Alicia Donley and Michelle Alozie each having scored twice in 2019
• Two keepers have split minutes in goal with Lindsey Romig earning four starts and not allowing a goal in 256 minutes of play while Charli Pogany has allowed just two so far

// NOTING THE SERIES: BEARCATS-VOLUNTEERS
• Cincinnati and Tennessee have met just once prior in the series with the #11 Volunteers taking a 2-1 decision over the #24 Bearcats in an NCAA College Cup Second Round game in Knoxville on November 17, 2002
• The Bearcats scored in the first half of play, but conceded a pair of goals, including the winner with 4:59 remaining, to fall from the tournament
• UC advanced to the match by defeating Kentucky earlier in the tournament

// AGAINST THE SEC
Since Stafford took over in 2013, the Bearcats have played six matches against foes from the SEC and four different teams in that time with Sunday's match at Tennessee marking the seventh match and fifth team added to the list. UC is 3-3-0 in that span with a 1-3-0 mark on the road. The Bearcats have lost their last three on the road at an SEC school, including a 3-1 setback last year at #10 Auburn. The last time UC won on the road against an SEC school was in 2014, a 1-0 victory at Mississippi State. The most recent meeting with an SEC foe came last year on September 16, a 2-1 home win over LSU.

// RANKED TEAMS
Sunday's match will mark the sixth of the 2019 season for the Bearcats and also will mark the third in which UC's foe has been included in the latest rankings released by the United Soccer Coaches. So far this year, the Bearcats have faced #25 Virginia Tech and Missouri, who was receiving votes, on the road with #20 Tennessee set to be third ranked opponent. Three others on the schedule have either been in the Top 25 or sit just outside currently, including Memphis (18), SMU (rv) and USF (rv).

// GET READY FOR SEPTEMBER 15
After Thursday's match and two on the road, it will be time to renew a rivalry as Xavier will come to Nippert Stadium for the Queen City Derby. The match will kick at 7 p.m. Sunday, September 15, and is free to all fans. Both teams are looking to break the attendance record for a women's collegiate soccer match in the state of Ohio, a record that belongs to UC after 4,722 fans came to Nippert in 2016 to see the Bearcats defeat Northern Kentucky in the inaugural Riverboat Rivalry.

// MANY MINUTES
Through the first five matches of the year, the Bearcats average 21 players seeing minutes each match, including 12 freshmen (four) and sophomores (eight). In fact, if you include all underclassmen (non-seniors), the Bearcats have featured an average of 15 players seeing playing time that are not seniors in 2019.

// YOUTHFUL LOOK
Not only are the younger players logging minutes, they also are earning starts. So far in 2019, six different players have earned their first collegiate starts. That list includes a trio of freshmen in Kendall Battle (3 starts), Ashley Barron (4) and Han Tang (4), and a trio of sophomores, including Morgan Jackson (4), Taylor Nuncio (1) and Ying Zhan (4). Jackson and Nuncio played at Louisville last year and did not record a start while Zhan appeared in 16 matches for UC as a freshman with no starts.

// PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Since the start of the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played 59 home matches, posting a 37-10-12 record in that time. Through last season, 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, 94-42 (+52).

// FIRST MULTIPLE
With the loss to Northwestern Thursday night, the Bearcats dropped back-to-back home contests for the first time since Neil Stafford took over coaching duties in 2013. Previously, the last time UC feel twice in a row came in 2012 when UC fell to #11 Georgetown and Villanova, both by 1-0 scores.

// SUNDAY FUN DAY!
Since Stafford took over the program in time for the 2013 season, the Bearcats have played at home on Sunday 29 times and hold an impressive 23-2-4 record in those matches. In that span, the Bearcats have not only posted an impressive record, but also have outscored their foes, 54-18, while the defense has recorded 16 clean sheets.

// 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 won 37 (37-9-12) thanks to a 5-2-3 home record in 2018.

// UP NEXT
The Bearcats return to action Thursday in Nashville, Tenn., as UC will visit Lipscomb for a 6:00 p.m. CT (7:00 p.m. ET) contest with the Bisons.