TicketsGREENVILLE, N.C. – Alli Pestaina's first career goal in the 80th minute broke a 1-1 tied and gave the University of Cincinnati soccer team a critical 2-1 American Athletic Conference road win over ECU Saturday at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
The Bearcats (4-4-0, 3-3-0 AAC) have won three-straight matches with all coming on goals late in the second half or overtime. UC has nine points on the season and sits third in the AAC behind Memphis (15) and USF (12). ECU fell to 2-4-2 (2-2-2 AAC).
UC scored both of its goals on set pieces with Pestaina corralling a rebound off a Taylor Nuncio free kick and belting it past ECU GK Maeve English to give the Bearcats the lead for good.
Chances for both teams were hard to come by in the first half, but UC made the most of it in the 16th minute via its first corner kick of the match. Nuncio hit an inswinger which found Pestaina's head, was hit down into the middle of the box and Annie Metzger found the loose ball and scored her first career goal.
ECU got on the board in the 49th minute after Annabelle Abbott hit the post from close range and the rebound bounced to Carsen Parker who scored on a low shot inside the post to knot things at 1-1.
The Bearcats continued their trend of pressing the offensive attack, holding a 13-6 advantage in shots and 7-6 edge in corner kicks, which led to the game-winning chance late in the game.
Cincinnati GK Anna Rexford made one save in the win to finish off a demanding stretch which saw UC played seven matches over a 20-day period.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats travel to Dallas to take on SMU on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET. The AAC road tilt will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on BearcatStats.com.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team (@GoBearcatsWSOC) and Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
The Bearcats (4-4-0, 3-3-0 AAC) have won three-straight matches with all coming on goals late in the second half or overtime. UC has nine points on the season and sits third in the AAC behind Memphis (15) and USF (12). ECU fell to 2-4-2 (2-2-2 AAC).
UC scored both of its goals on set pieces with Pestaina corralling a rebound off a Taylor Nuncio free kick and belting it past ECU GK Maeve English to give the Bearcats the lead for good.
Chances for both teams were hard to come by in the first half, but UC made the most of it in the 16th minute via its first corner kick of the match. Nuncio hit an inswinger which found Pestaina's head, was hit down into the middle of the box and Annie Metzger found the loose ball and scored her first career goal.
Big goals from Annie Metzger and Alli Pestaina to lead us to the 2-1 victory! pic.twitter.com/6Kld3cfVYX
— Cincinnati W-Soccer (@GoBearcatsWSOC) March 27, 2021
ECU got on the board in the 49th minute after Annabelle Abbott hit the post from close range and the rebound bounced to Carsen Parker who scored on a low shot inside the post to knot things at 1-1.
The Bearcats continued their trend of pressing the offensive attack, holding a 13-6 advantage in shots and 7-6 edge in corner kicks, which led to the game-winning chance late in the game.
Cincinnati GK Anna Rexford made one save in the win to finish off a demanding stretch which saw UC played seven matches over a 20-day period.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats travel to Dallas to take on SMU on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 2 p.m. ET. The AAC road tilt will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on BearcatStats.com.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team (@GoBearcatsWSOC) and Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.