TicketsCINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati soccer team will return to the friendly confines of Clifton Heights Sunday when it hosts (RV) Virginia Tech at 1 p.m.
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LAST TIME OUT
UC dropped a 1-0, road heartbreaker to Xavier on Thursday night. The Musketeers broke the draw on an 81st-minute goal. The first half saw only five combined shots amidst a physical battle. The Bearcats got off five attempts in the second half, including two in a row at the net from Vanessa DiNardo and Maddy Pittman that were both stopped. Alli Pestaina, an All-AAC performer last spring, started and played all 90 minutes in her season debut.
TEAM LEADERS
DiNardo has fired nine shots in the first three contests (third in the league) after having 19 over 11 last spring. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Rexford has also held a 0.93 GAA compared to 1.25 last season. That team tally ranks third in the AAC among teams with multiple contests. Another team script that flipped Thursday was a 9-1 margin for Xavier in corners after the Bearcats were 12-8 in the first two.
Lauren Bastian went the distance against Xavier for the first time in her two-year career. She played 62 minutes at NKU and 73 the following contest with Toledo. Senior Brandi Thomsen also played 90 minutes for the second time (Xavier in 2019).
BEAT THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
As of this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, UC has seven ranked or receiving-votes opponents: No. 15 South Florida, No. 18 Michigan, No. 19 UCF and SMU, Memphis, Xavier and Virginia Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
The first meeting between the teams came in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, a 4-0 win for the Hokies. It was the Bearcats' seventh trip to the sport's biggest stage and featured then-sophomore and eventual 2020 Tokyo gold-medalist Vanessa Gilles. The two squads met again in Blacksburg, Va., in August 2019, also a 2-0 defeat. A Sunday win would give Cincinnati its first ACC win since 2017 against Miami, five matches ago.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech enters the day 3-0-0 with an 11-1 scoring margin. It defeated Elon 7-1 on Thursday and returns 24 of its 31 goals scored from last season. Veteran head coach Charles "Chugger" Adair has led the Hokies to seven NCAA appearances in his 11 years at the helm. His connections with UC head coach Neil Stafford go a long way: they had the same best man at each other's weddings (Stafford's college roommate), and he is the godfather of Stafford's youngest son.
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.
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Free Admission
LAST TIME OUT
UC dropped a 1-0, road heartbreaker to Xavier on Thursday night. The Musketeers broke the draw on an 81st-minute goal. The first half saw only five combined shots amidst a physical battle. The Bearcats got off five attempts in the second half, including two in a row at the net from Vanessa DiNardo and Maddy Pittman that were both stopped. Alli Pestaina, an All-AAC performer last spring, started and played all 90 minutes in her season debut.
TEAM LEADERS
DiNardo has fired nine shots in the first three contests (third in the league) after having 19 over 11 last spring. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Rexford has also held a 0.93 GAA compared to 1.25 last season. That team tally ranks third in the AAC among teams with multiple contests. Another team script that flipped Thursday was a 9-1 margin for Xavier in corners after the Bearcats were 12-8 in the first two.
Lauren Bastian went the distance against Xavier for the first time in her two-year career. She played 62 minutes at NKU and 73 the following contest with Toledo. Senior Brandi Thomsen also played 90 minutes for the second time (Xavier in 2019).
BEAT THE BEST TO BE THE BEST
As of this week's United Soccer Coaches poll, UC has seven ranked or receiving-votes opponents: No. 15 South Florida, No. 18 Michigan, No. 19 UCF and SMU, Memphis, Xavier and Virginia Tech.
SERIES HISTORY
The first meeting between the teams came in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, a 4-0 win for the Hokies. It was the Bearcats' seventh trip to the sport's biggest stage and featured then-sophomore and eventual 2020 Tokyo gold-medalist Vanessa Gilles. The two squads met again in Blacksburg, Va., in August 2019, also a 2-0 defeat. A Sunday win would give Cincinnati its first ACC win since 2017 against Miami, five matches ago.
SCOUTING THE HOKIES
Virginia Tech enters the day 3-0-0 with an 11-1 scoring margin. It defeated Elon 7-1 on Thursday and returns 24 of its 31 goals scored from last season. Veteran head coach Charles "Chugger" Adair has led the Hokies to seven NCAA appearances in his 11 years at the helm. His connections with UC head coach Neil Stafford go a long way: they had the same best man at each other's weddings (Stafford's college roommate), and he is the godfather of Stafford's youngest son.
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.