CINCINNATI - Han Tang scored a brace, Sophie Gorman got on the board and the Bearcats battled for a road result Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team grabbed a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over Lipscomb at the LU Soccer Complex. The Bearcats, who led 1-0 and then trailed 2-1, bounced back to not only win, but snap a five-match losing skid that sees them improve to 2-5-0 on the year while the host Bisons fell to 4-3-0 in 2019.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati improved to 2-5-0 in 2019 while Lipscomb dropped to 4-3-0
• The Bearcats remain undefeated all-time against the Bisons, moving to 3-0-1 and 2-0-0 when playing in Nashville
• The victory snapped a five-match losing skid for the Bearcats that also gave them their first road win of the year
• UC led early before falling behind and eventually winning with two goals less than two minutes a part in the second half
• Tang recorded her first brace as a collegiate player, scoring in the 3' and then again in the 66'
• Her first goal is the eighth-fastest scored under Neil Stafford (since 2013) and the eighth goal scored in the 3' or quicker in that span
• After not seeing a player score multiple goals in a match all last season, UC has done it twice in the first seven matches of 2019 after Vanessa DiNardo scored a brace in the season-opening 2-0 win over St. John's
• Gorman opened the night assisting on Tang's first goal for her first point of the season and then tied a career-high for points in a match by scoring later to tie things at 2-2
• Bri Costigan was credited with the assist on Gorman's goal for her first point of the season and third career helper
• Madison Less made two saves in the contest to pick up her second win of the season in goal
• For the first time this year, the Bearcats played less than 21 players as only 20 saw minutes tonight
// SCORING RECAP
3' • With the Bearcats on the front foot to open the match, the visitors were rewarded with the first goal as Tang found the net at 2:44 into the match for an early 1-0 lead. On the play, the ball was carried into the attacking third where Gorman controlled the ball and moved forward toward the top of the 18. From there, she played a well-weighted ball between two defenders that Tang ran onto, collecting the pass and then sending it low into the back of the net for her second career goal and Gorman's first point of the year.
19' • The hosts leveled things at 1-1 a short time later. On the play, the Bisons stole the ball on the right flank. Cami Rogers moved into the area and slipped a pass toward the front of the goal. Her pass fell between Less and a defender with Olivia Doak getting a toe to the pass and sending it past the UC keeper to tie things.
33' • The Bisons took their first lead of the night at 32:10 with Rogers connecting with Kaitlin Echols. On the play, Rogers collected a loose ball and pushed forward where she sent a ball over the top of the defense. Echols got to the ball first and tipped it over a sliding Less from just inside the box to make it 2-1 for the hosts.
64' • Similar to the first half, the Bearcats came out aggressively to open the second half and saw that pay dividends. The UC attack set up shop in the LU third and saw the Bearcats pepper the goal with several shots that were blocked or tipped away. On an ensuing corner kick, Costigan played the ball into the Camryn Hartman, who played it back to Costigan. The senior then sent a pass into the box looking for Ying Zhan, but her pass skipped past Zhan and found the foot of Gorman, who launched a shot into the net to level the score. The score marked Gorman's first goal of the season while Costigan collected her first point of the year as well.
66' • As they had done just minutes earlier, the Bearcats continued to press the issue on the attack. UC was awarded a corner kick and the ball was played in where it bounced around and hit a defender's arm in the box, awarding the Bearcats a penalty kick. Tang stepped to the spot and sent her shot just past the diving arms of the LU keeper, putting UC back on top, 3-2. With no other scoring taking place the rest of the way, Tang's goal goes down as the game-winner, the first of her collegiate career.
// BIG NIGHT FOR TANG
To say the China international had a big night would be an understatement. Here are some notes of the freshman's night:
• Her first goal is the eighth-fastest by a UC player since 2013 (when Stafford took over the program) and is the eighth scored by a UC player in the opening three minutes of match in that same span.
• The spot kick score is the first of her career and the first for a UC player in a non-conference match in over one year with Cassie Wheldon netting a PK at #10 Auburn last year (September 9)
• Her four points are a career-high at UC, surpassing the two she collected at Missouri with her first collegiate goal
• Her second goal also goes down as the game-winner, the first of her collegiate career
// GORMAN GETS GOING
Entering the match, Gorman had not recorded one point in her first six matches of the season. That all ended tonight as she opened her season ledger with an assist on Tang's opener and then added her first goal of the campaign to tie things at 2-2 later in the match. With three points to her credit tonight, Gorman tied a career-high after recording the same score line against Tulsa (10/12/17) in her rookie season.
// NOT AS MANY
For the first time all season, the Bearcats did not send 21 players to the pitch as only 20 saw minutes tonight. One of those players, Michelle Travassos, earned her first start of the season while the trio of Tang, Sydney Goins and Less have all started every match this year.
// NEXT MATCH
With the road trip behind them, the Bearcats can now turn their attention to Sunday's return of the Queen City Derby as crosstown rival Xavier will come to Nipper Stadium for a 6 p.m. contest. Admission is free for all fans as both programs look to welcome a large crowd to the venue that has hosted MLS, USMNT and USWNT team matches in the past year.
Bearcats Bounce Back to Down Lipscomb, 3-2
Han Tang scored a brace, Sophie Gorman got on the board and the Bearcats battled for a road result Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team grabbed a 3-2, come-from-behind victory over Lipscomb at the LU Soccer Complex.
