CINCINNATI - With back-to-back quick goals by Camryn Hartman and Sophie Gorman and another stellar defensive performance from Madison Less and the Bearcats in front of her, the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team opened its 2019 American Athletic Conference slate with a solid 2-0 victory over host Temple Thursday night in Philadelphia, Pa. The Bearcats, playing on the front foot much of the evening, remained undefeated in their last four matches and improved to 3-5-2 on the year (1-0-0 AAC) while the Owls fell to 2-5-3 overall and 0-1-0 in league play.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati improved to 3-5-2 (1-0-0 in the AAC) in 2019 while Temple fell to 2-5-3 (0-1-0 in the AAC)
• The Bearcats now lead the all-time series with the Owls, 4-2-1, and are 3-1-0 when the series is played in Philadelphia
• The only two shutouts recorded in the series have come in back-to-back meetings on Temple's home field after UC won, 3-0, in 2017
• With the win, the Bearcats are now 12-12-2 all-time in their conference opener all-time, 13-12-1 in their first road conference match of the season, 2-3-2 in their first AAC match of the year and 5-1-1 in their first road AAC match of the year
• After falling in five-consecutive matches, the Bearcats are now undefeated in their last four, posting a 2-0-2 record
• Since a goal conceded to Lipscomb, the Bearcats defense has not allowed a tally in the last 387:50 of play, the 10th-longest streak in program history and the second-longest under Neil Stafford
• Hartman's goal goes down as her first collegiate goal and her first collegiate game-winning tally
• The goal scored by Hartman also stopped the clock on a scoreless streak for the Bearcats, ending a run of 303:13 without a goal scored
• Gorman's goal came just 2:08 later, marking the 13th time (since 2001) that UC has scored back-to-back goals in under 2:30 of play and the third time it has happened this year (vs. St. John's and at Lipscomb)
• Madison Less made two saves on the night to record her third clean sheet in a row and fourth of the season to bring her career total to 12.0 shutouts, the seventh-most all-time in program history
• The Bearcats saw 21 players earn minutes tonight with all but two playing at least 25 minutes and only one, goalkeeper Less, playing the full 90 minutes
• With the win, the Bearcats secured three points in league play, placing them in a four-way tie atop the table as UC was one of three road sides (Memphis & ECU) to win on opening night while USF grabbed a home win on a very late PK
// SCORING RECAP
59' • After having no luck finding the back of the net in the first half, the Bearcats continued to attack and were rewarded in the 59' with Hartman nabbing her first collegiate goal and her first collegiate game-winning strike. On the play, the defense stopped the Owls and gained possession deep in UC territory with Han Tang controlling the ball near the top of the box. She played out to Brandi Thomsen, who turned and found Sydney Kilgore on the wing. Kilgore's pace allowed her to fly past several defenders and, as she neared the top of the box in the attacking third, she slipped a pass into the middle of the pitch. There, Tang stepped over the pass and allowed it through to Hartman who pushed into the area and sent a low shot to the back post and into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
61' • The celebration didn't last long as the Bearcats went back to work and were rewarded for their hustle once again. This time, Bri Costigan drew a foul on the touchline near midfield on UC's side of the pitch. She sent a high arching pass into the area where a Temple defender tried to clear, but the ball squirted to the right of the TU keeper's box. Vanessa DiNardo took advantage and raced to the ball, collected it and sent a pass back into the box toward the top of the 18 where Gorman ran on to the pass and launched her shot low into the same corner for a 2-0 lead just 2:08 later.
// QUICK SCORES
For the third time this year and the 13th time since electronic stats began (2001), the Bearcats scored two goals in a span of 2:30 or quicker as Hartman and Gorman's goals were just 2:08 a part. In the season-opener with St. John's, DiNardo scored a brace just 21 seconds a part, the fastest back-to-back goals in the electronic era at UC. Two weeks ago, at Lipscomb, Gorman had a hand in the second instance as her tying goal was followed 1:47 later by Tang's converted spot kick.
// ... AND COUNTING
Thanks to strong play in the back and great goal keeping by Less, the Bearcats defense recorded its fourth clean sheet of the year and its third in a row. With those three-straight shutouts, which included scoreless home draws with both Xavier and Austin Peay, along with the final 57:50 of scoreless soccer by Lipscomb, the Bearcats have now not allowed an opponent goal in 387:50 of playing time, the 10th-longest streak in program history. The streak, which is just 12:10 away from reach 400 minutes, is the second-longest under Stafford, trailing the 588:19 the team accumulated in 2017, a run in which Less, who moved up to seventh all-time in career shutouts at UC with 12.0, was part of as a redshirt freshman
// AROUND THE LEAGUE
Tonight saw four AAC matches take place with three road teams winning, including Memphis over UCF (1-0), ECU over UConn (1-0) and the Bearcats over Temple (2-0). The lone home victory came at USF as the Bulls downed Tulsa, 2-1, on a penalty kick goal with no time remaining in double overtime. With the results in the book, UC, UM, ECU and USF are all tied a top the AAC table with three points each.
// NEXT MATCH
The Northeast road trip concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with the Bearcats facing UConn in Hartford, Conn.
Hartman’s First Helps Bearcats Past Temple, 2-0
With back-to-back quick goals by Camryn Hartman and Sophie Gorman and another stellar defensive performance from Madison Less and the Bearcats in front of her, the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team opened its 2019 American Athletic Conference slate with a solid 2-0 victory over host Temple Thursday night in Philadelphia, Pa.
