TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team travels to take on UCF at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex on Thursday. The match was originally scheduled for Sept. 29, but was postponed due to Hurricane Ian.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET and live coverage will air on ESPN+.
THE SERIES
This is the 13th-ever meeting between the two programs. The all-time series is tied 5-5-2. The Bearcats are 4-0-2 at home, 1-4-0 on the road and 0-1-0 in neutral site matches. The Bearcats' largest margin of victory came in consecutive 2-0 victories over the Knights in 2015 and 2016. The two programs last played on Oct. 28, 2021, where Cincinnati only allowed four shots in a 3-1 win at Gettler Stadium. Cincinnati is outscoring UCF 9-7 under Stafford.
LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati earned their first conference win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Temple last Sunday at Gettler Stadium. With the win, the Bearcats extend their active unbeaten streak to five matches, which ties the longest of the season and remains best in the AAC. For the second straight match, Cincinnati commanded an early 1-0 lead off a play by Paige Miller, this time on a diving header off an assist from Vyviene Spaulding in the 13th minute. Cincinnati doubled their lead seven minutes later when Emma Schmelzer fired a followed-up set piece for her first collegiate goal in the 20th minute. Schmelzer is now the 11th different Bearcat to score this season. Temple responded in the 61st minute and the match remained within a goal until Cincinnati found some late insurance in the 88th minute. The pair of Miller and Spaulding connected for the second time on the afternoon when Spaulding sent a ball in the final third and Miller redirected the touch inside the left post to make it 3-1. The brace is the first of Miller's career. With the 24-3 advantage this afternoon, Cincinnati has outshot their opponent in eight of 11 matches. The 24 shots match a season-high and the Bearcats remain undefeated at 5-0-3 when possessing the shot advantage.
COMPARED TO THE CONFERENCE
Cincinnati has the best margin of victory in the AAC (+1.00). At .682, Cincinnati has the best win percentage in the conference. The Bearcats currently have the longest in the conference (5 matches, 2-0-3). At 5-0-2, the Bearcats are one of two AAC teams (Memphis, 4-0-2) that remain unbeaten at home. The Bearcats are second in the conference in total home attendance (3,996) and average (571/Game). Cincinnati ranks first in shots per game (14.64), points per game (5.18) and assists per game (1.36). The Bearcats are tied for second in assists (15), points (57), goals (21) and second in goals per game (1.91) and shots on goal per game (5.73) in the conference. Cincinnati ranks fourth in the conference in shots (161) and goals allowed (10). Paige Miller is tied for first in points (6), goals (3) and is in sole possession of first in points per game (2.00) and goals per game (1.00) in the conference matches. The Bearcats have four players in the top-10 in points per game (Megan Smith, Emma Schmelzer, Lauren Bastian, Miller) in conference matches. Vanessa DiNardo ranks first in shots per game (4.00) and is tied for third in total shots (13) in conference matches. Anna Rexford has recorded four clean sheets this season, which is tied for third in the conference.
PAIGE MILLER NAMED AAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON OCT. 10
Miller has been named American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. This is the first time in her career that she has received the distinction. She is the latest Bearcat to earn weekly conference offensive honors since Camryn Hartman did so on March 8, 2021. Miller notched three goals in the Bearcats' first two conference matches last week, including recording her first career brace in a 3-1 win over Temple on Sunday. The sophomore has earned her first starts of the season over the last two matches. Cincinnati has earned a weekly conference honor in five weeks this season, already the most since the Bearcats secured nine in 2017.
BUSY OCTOBER
With the postponement of the UCF match from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13, the Bearcats will play seven games in October, four on the road and three at Gettler Stadium. The four road matches in the final month of the regular season are the most since 2016.
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com and follow @GoBearcatsWSOC on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET and live coverage will air on ESPN+.
THE SERIES
This is the 13th-ever meeting between the two programs. The all-time series is tied 5-5-2. The Bearcats are 4-0-2 at home, 1-4-0 on the road and 0-1-0 in neutral site matches. The Bearcats' largest margin of victory came in consecutive 2-0 victories over the Knights in 2015 and 2016. The two programs last played on Oct. 28, 2021, where Cincinnati only allowed four shots in a 3-1 win at Gettler Stadium. Cincinnati is outscoring UCF 9-7 under Stafford.
LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati earned their first conference win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Temple last Sunday at Gettler Stadium. With the win, the Bearcats extend their active unbeaten streak to five matches, which ties the longest of the season and remains best in the AAC. For the second straight match, Cincinnati commanded an early 1-0 lead off a play by Paige Miller, this time on a diving header off an assist from Vyviene Spaulding in the 13th minute. Cincinnati doubled their lead seven minutes later when Emma Schmelzer fired a followed-up set piece for her first collegiate goal in the 20th minute. Schmelzer is now the 11th different Bearcat to score this season. Temple responded in the 61st minute and the match remained within a goal until Cincinnati found some late insurance in the 88th minute. The pair of Miller and Spaulding connected for the second time on the afternoon when Spaulding sent a ball in the final third and Miller redirected the touch inside the left post to make it 3-1. The brace is the first of Miller's career. With the 24-3 advantage this afternoon, Cincinnati has outshot their opponent in eight of 11 matches. The 24 shots match a season-high and the Bearcats remain undefeated at 5-0-3 when possessing the shot advantage.
COMPARED TO THE CONFERENCE
Cincinnati has the best margin of victory in the AAC (+1.00). At .682, Cincinnati has the best win percentage in the conference. The Bearcats currently have the longest in the conference (5 matches, 2-0-3). At 5-0-2, the Bearcats are one of two AAC teams (Memphis, 4-0-2) that remain unbeaten at home. The Bearcats are second in the conference in total home attendance (3,996) and average (571/Game). Cincinnati ranks first in shots per game (14.64), points per game (5.18) and assists per game (1.36). The Bearcats are tied for second in assists (15), points (57), goals (21) and second in goals per game (1.91) and shots on goal per game (5.73) in the conference. Cincinnati ranks fourth in the conference in shots (161) and goals allowed (10). Paige Miller is tied for first in points (6), goals (3) and is in sole possession of first in points per game (2.00) and goals per game (1.00) in the conference matches. The Bearcats have four players in the top-10 in points per game (Megan Smith, Emma Schmelzer, Lauren Bastian, Miller) in conference matches. Vanessa DiNardo ranks first in shots per game (4.00) and is tied for third in total shots (13) in conference matches. Anna Rexford has recorded four clean sheets this season, which is tied for third in the conference.
PAIGE MILLER NAMED AAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK ON OCT. 10
Miller has been named American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. This is the first time in her career that she has received the distinction. She is the latest Bearcat to earn weekly conference offensive honors since Camryn Hartman did so on March 8, 2021. Miller notched three goals in the Bearcats' first two conference matches last week, including recording her first career brace in a 3-1 win over Temple on Sunday. The sophomore has earned her first starts of the season over the last two matches. Cincinnati has earned a weekly conference honor in five weeks this season, already the most since the Bearcats secured nine in 2017.
BUSY OCTOBER
With the postponement of the UCF match from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13, the Bearcats will play seven games in October, four on the road and three at Gettler Stadium. The four road matches in the final month of the regular season are the most since 2016.
CONTRIBUTIONS ACROSS THE PITCH - OFFENSE MOVING FAST, DEFENSE HOLDING STRONG
This season, 11 different players have scored a goal through eleven matches this season compared to 12 all of 21, while 10 different players have recorded an assists this season. Brandi Thomsen is one of 11 AAC players who have tallied at least three assists. Five players have recorded their first collegiate goal this season - Maddie Swingle, Megan Smith, Sarah Kate Rath, Ellie Flower and Emma Schmelzer. Eight newcomers -five freshman, three transfers - have recorded at least one start. Rexford has recorded four clean sheets this season, which is tied for third in the conference. Every goal in the Stony Brook match was scored by a player in their first or second collegiate season. The five goals scored against Stony Brook ties the second-most under Stafford. The Bearcats also scored five against Eastern Illinois (5-0 win on Sept. 5, 2021) and Saint Francis (PA) (5-0 win on Sept. 7, 2014). The most was a 9-0 win against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 5, 2014.
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com and follow @GoBearcatsWSOC on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.