CINCINNATI - Ying Zhan scored her first career goal on a blistering shot from distance to snap a scoring drought for the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team, but it was not enough to help the Bearcats overcome three goals by host #20 Tennessee Sunday afternoon at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. The loss dropped the Bearcats to 1-5-0 on the year while the Volunteers, winners of 18 in a row on their home pitch, moved to 5-1-0.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati fell to 1-5-0 on the year while Tennessee improved to 5-1-0
• The Volunteers lead the all-time series, 2-0-0, with both matches being played in Knoxville
• UC is currently on a five-match losing skid after winning their opening contest of 2019
• Today's match was the third in six against a team appearing in the national rankings (United Soccer Coaches) after having already played at #25 Virginia Tech and the at Missouri, who was receiving votes
• Zhan scored her first career goal after recording her first career assist two weeks ago at Missouri, another SEC school
• Julia Abbott picked up her first career assist and Camryn Hartman her second to set up Zhan's goal
• The goal by UC snapped a pair of streaks as the Bearcats picked up their first goal in just of 319 minutes while the Volunteers surrendered their first goal at home in 265 minutes of play
• Emi Carlo fired a shot in the 16' which was the first shot UT had allowed after not allowing one in its previous two home matches
• Madison Less stopped seven shots in the match, marking her seventh career match with seven or more saves and her second this year after tying a career high with 10 at #25 Virginia Tech
• Brandi Thomsen and Emi Carlo both earned their first starts of the season
• 21 Bearcats saw minutes today, meaning either 22 or 21 players have been utilized in all six matches of the 2019 season
// SCORING RECAP
5' • UT opened the scoring in the 5' of play as Wrenne French headed home a series of passes. MA Vignola sent a pass to Kate Cousins, who lifted it into the box where Wrenne was able to rise above the defense and nod the ball into the netting for a 1-0 lead.
48' • Following the halftime whistle, the Bearcats came out the aggressors, but their efforts didn't bear fruit. After one attack, the Vols regained control of the ball and moved down the pitch. The ball was slipped into the center of the box where Vignola ripped a shot that Less stopped with a sliding save. The ball, however, rebounded out toward the penalty spot where Sonia Ouchene Salon hit into the net to make 2-0 for the hosts.
62' • UT's final goal was a bang-bang play that saw Cousins and Salon play a quick pass into the box and Isabella Cook hitting home to make it 3-0 for the Vols.
83' • The Bearcats scored their lone goal of the contest late in the match with Zhan on the scoring end of the strike. The play began in near the midfield stripe where Hartman collected the ball and battled through two defenders down the left flank. Hartman slipped a pass toward the top of the box where Abbott was shielding her defender and one-touched the ball to a streaking Zhan who immediately fired on goal from 22 yards out, sending a rocket toward the upper 90 of the frame and out of the reach of the UT keeper to make 3-1 for the hosts.
// ACCOUNT OPENED
With the goal scored, Zhan tallied her first collegiate goal and brought her season total to three points on one goal and one assist. Her first collegiate point came at Missouri when she set-up Han Tang for the score in a 2-1 defeat. With her three points, Zhan currently ranks second on the team with only Vanessa DiNardo ahead of her after she scored twice in the 2-0 win over St. John's earlier in the year.
// HAPPY TO HELP
On the goal, Abbot recorded the first assist of her collegiate career while Hartman tallied her second helper. Abbott, a senior, has three goals to her credit and added her first assist to the mix while Hartman, a sophomore, recorded her second career point and her first since an assist last year against Temple (10/11/18).
// STREAK SNAPPED • CINCINNATI
The goal for the Bearcats snapped a scoreless streak that had reached 319 minutes (319:02). The last time UC had scored this season was at the 33:34 mark at Missouri when Tang scored her first collegiate goal on a pass from Zhan. Between then and today's goal, UC was shutout twice as well.
// STREAK SNAPPED • TENNESSEE
UT had a pair of streaks going on their home surface that UC snapped today. First, at 15:51, Carlo fired a shot that missed the frame low and wide. That shot represented the first allowed at home by the Vols in over two matches after not allowing a single attempt by both Mercer and Southeastern Louisiana. In fact, UC finished the day with nine total shots and four on goal, the most allowed in both categories by UT at home this season and the second-most all year behind a 15 and 5 performance by Rutgers in a 1-0 win over the Vols.
The second streak snapped was UT's home shutout streak. Going for their 100th career home clean sheet, UT conceded the goal to Zhan at the 82:36 mark in the match. Including the final 1:53 of the opener against Fordham (also a 3-1 score for UT), back-to-back shutouts and then today's time before Zhan's goal, the Vols had held foes scoreless for 264:29 in Knoxville.
// STOPPING SHOTS
So far this year, Less has been called upon to make saves and has done so for the most part as she has seen 63 shots sent in her direct with 34 on frame, 10 of which have scored and 24 she has saved. Earlier in the year, she halted a career-high-tying 10 shot at #25 Virginia Tech and today added seven more. With today's saves total, Less has now recorded seven or more saves in a single match twice this year and seven times in her UC career.
// SEEING THE FIELD
The Bearcats sent 21 players to the pitch Sunday afternoon which is nothing new as UC has utilized either 21 (four times) or 22 (twice) players in a match this year. Both Thomsen and Carlo earned their first starts of the season as well.
// NEXT MATCH
UC returns to the Volunteer State Thursday for a 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) match in Nashville, Tenn., against host Lipscomb.
Zhan Scores as Bearcats Fall at #20 UT, 3-1
Ying Zhan scored her first career goal on a blistering shot from distance to snap a scoring drought for the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team, but it was not enough to help the Bearcats overcome three goals by host 20 Tennessee Sunday afternoon at Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
