CINCINNATI - Sydney Goins connected on a shot from distance while Madison Less and Bearcats defense withstood a barrage of shots (21-6) to keep a clean sheet as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team downed SMU, 1-0, Thursday night at Westcott Field in Dallas. The Bearcats battled to the end to keep the hosts off the score sheet to collect their fourth conference win of the season, improving to 4-1-0 in American Athletic Conference action while evening their record to 6-6-2 on the year after a 1-5-0 start to 2019. The Mustangs fell to 8-5-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the AAC.
// NOTING THE MATCH
• Cincinnati moved to 6-6-2 on the year and improved to 4-1-0 in the AAC while SMU fell to 8-5-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the AAC
• After opening the season 1-5-0, the Bearcats have gone 5-1-2 in their last seven to even their record
• The Mustangs continue to lead the all-time series, 5-4-2, but tonight's victory for UC snapped a three-game slide in the series
• The victory is the first for the Bearcats at SMU in the five meetings that have taken place in Dallas (1-3-1)
• In the 11 meetings between the two sides, eight have ended with one team being shutout, including each of the last five meetings while three of those contests have finished in a 1-0 score
• UC has now posted three shutouts in AAC play with all coming away from home, the most of the AAC Era (two in 2017 was the record)
• With the win and results from around the league, UC is now tied for second overall with USF on 12 points
• Less made five saves on the night, including several diving stabs, to record her sixth clean sheet of the year and the 14th of her career, the tied for 10th and tied for sixth totals, respectively, in program history
• Goins now has two goals on the year, doubling her single-season high (one each her freshman and sophomore years), with both going down as game-winning tallies
• Vanessa DiNardo got back into the points column as she assisted on the goal, her first of the year and first since last year (September 13) at home against Lipscomb
• Sophie Gorman also was credited with an assist, her second of the year, which sees her joining Ying Zhan as the only UC players with more than one helper on the year
// SCORING RECAP
36' • The Bearcats battled to retain possession of the ball and did just that as Gorman tracked back and stole the ball short of the midfield stripe. Moving forward, she led DiNardo with a pass toward the top of the box where the sophomore slid a pass to her left for Goins. The senior then moved left and let her shot fly from around 22-yards out, seeing the ball curl into the net for a 1-0 lead. With the only goal of the night, Goins not only scored her second goal of the year, but also recorded her second game-winner of the season, which also came in a 1-0 game on the road in conference (overtime winner at UConn).
// LESS WITH MORE
Less was called upon to turn away five shots on the night as the defense helped her record her sixth shutout of the season and the 14th of her career. On the career front, Less is now tied for sixth all-time in program history, sharing the spot with Tracy Hale (2001-04). Additionally, she has now cracked the single-season list, tying for 10th with a trio of former UC keepers in Chris Jones (1982), Kathy Kronauge (1986) and Andrea Kaminski (2005).
// FIRST WIN
While the Bearcats have won at SMU in the past (twice in the 2015 AAC Tournament on their way to the league crown), UC has not defeated SMU on their home turf until now. Tonight marked the fifth match in the series to be played in Dallas with UC now sitting 1-3-1. The win also marks the final team in the current AAC that the Bearcats had not recorded a conference victory against. It marks the second year in a row this has happened after UC downed host Tulsa last year, 2-1.
// BACK TO EVEN
After opening the year with a 2-0 victory over St. John's, the Bearcats suffered defeat in their next five matches to sit at 1-5-0. Since then, UC has turned things around to post a 5-1-2 record and have not only moved toward the top of the table in the American, but have now leveled their overall record at .500 (6-6-2).
// CLEAN SHEETS ON THE ROAD
Since joining the AAC in 2013, the Bearcats have now posted 22 shutouts in six-plus seasons. With tonight's win, the Bearcats have three shutouts this year, all of which have come on the road (2-0 at Temple, 1-0 in overtime at UConn and 1-0 at SMU). Of those 22 clean sheets, eight have come on the road with this year's trio the most in a single season, bettering the two tallied in 2017. The remaining three came with one each tallied in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
// AROUND THE LEAGUE
Four matches were played in the AAC tonight (Memphis and Tulsa are idle this week) with Cincinnati (1-0 at SMU), USF (2-1 hosting UConn) and Houston (1-0 OT hosting ECU) posting victories while Temple and host UCF played to a scoreless draw. With the points earned, UC and USF are tied for second on 12 points with Memphis still leading on 16. UCF is fourth with 10 points while ECU and Temple are tied for fifth with seven points.
// NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats return to action Sunday with a 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) match at Houston. The contest will be the final regular-season road match of the 2019 season for UC.
Goins’ Goal Gives Bearcats 1-0 Victory at SMU
Sydney Goins connected on a shot from distance while Madison Less and Bearcats defense withstood a barrage of shots (21-6) to keep a clean sheet as the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team downed SMU, 1-0, Thursday night at Westcott Field in Dallas.
