TicketsCINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati soccer team will look to build off Sunday's momentum when it hosts Ball State at 7 p.m. Thursday, the first all-time meeting between the schools.
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HOME COOKIN'
This homestand will make for four of the Bearcats' first six contests, with the two road ones coming a combined 10 miles away. The Bearcats also had five-straight from March 11-24. Head coach Neil Stafford led the squad to a 32-6-9 home record his first five seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats defeated Virginia Tech, 2-1, on Sunday, withstanding 14 shots that led to six Anna Rexford saves (matching a career-high). Vanessa DiNardo's second goal started the scoring, a short touch from Maddy Pittman who took it from midfield to the six-yard box. After the Hokies tied it on a penalty kick, Karli Royer connected on a deep free-kick to the top corner of the net in the 44th minute that proved to be the game-winner.
ROYER'S WEEKLY HONOR
Royer, a graduate student studying behavioral analysis, continued her fantastic start to the season in games against Xavier and Virginia Tech this weekend, two teams receiving Top-25 votes. Her game-winning, free-kick goal in the 44th minute Sunday was her first since 2017. The Westerville, Ohio, native has played all 380 minutes this year as well and made the AAC All-Tourney Team last spring. She is joined on the defensive front by Ashley Barron, a MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list honoree, as well as veteran Alli Pestaina, who missed the first two games but returned Thursday.
SCORING LEADER
DiNardo is fifth in the AAC with 3.0 shots per game, with her 12 on the year coming after she led the team with 19 in the 11-game spring season. She has two goals on the year and six as a Bearcat. Kendall Battle was the only one last season with two.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Ball State is coming off a 5-1 Sunday loss to Purdue in which the Boilermakers ended with four unanswered goals. It also knocked off Valparaiso, 3-1, the previous Sunday. Head coach Josh Rife was the MAC Coach of the Year last season, his second at the school, and in 2018 was an assistant at Mississippi State under UC associate head coach Tom Anagnost. Rife also worked closely with UC assistant Rich Wall at Gardner-Webb in the 2012 season and played on the Charlotte Eagles (USL) while Wall was within the club's youth organization.
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
HOME COOKIN'
This homestand will make for four of the Bearcats' first six contests, with the two road ones coming a combined 10 miles away. The Bearcats also had five-straight from March 11-24. Head coach Neil Stafford led the squad to a 32-6-9 home record his first five seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats defeated Virginia Tech, 2-1, on Sunday, withstanding 14 shots that led to six Anna Rexford saves (matching a career-high). Vanessa DiNardo's second goal started the scoring, a short touch from Maddy Pittman who took it from midfield to the six-yard box. After the Hokies tied it on a penalty kick, Karli Royer connected on a deep free-kick to the top corner of the net in the 44th minute that proved to be the game-winner.
ROYER'S WEEKLY HONOR
Royer, a graduate student studying behavioral analysis, continued her fantastic start to the season in games against Xavier and Virginia Tech this weekend, two teams receiving Top-25 votes. Her game-winning, free-kick goal in the 44th minute Sunday was her first since 2017. The Westerville, Ohio, native has played all 380 minutes this year as well and made the AAC All-Tourney Team last spring. She is joined on the defensive front by Ashley Barron, a MAC Hermann Trophy preseason watch list honoree, as well as veteran Alli Pestaina, who missed the first two games but returned Thursday.
SCORING LEADER
DiNardo is fifth in the AAC with 3.0 shots per game, with her 12 on the year coming after she led the team with 19 in the 11-game spring season. She has two goals on the year and six as a Bearcat. Kendall Battle was the only one last season with two.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Ball State is coming off a 5-1 Sunday loss to Purdue in which the Boilermakers ended with four unanswered goals. It also knocked off Valparaiso, 3-1, the previous Sunday. Head coach Josh Rife was the MAC Coach of the Year last season, his second at the school, and in 2018 was an assistant at Mississippi State under UC associate head coach Tom Anagnost. Rife also worked closely with UC assistant Rich Wall at Gardner-Webb in the 2012 season and played on the Charlotte Eagles (USL) while Wall was within the club's youth organization.
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.