TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team welcomes South Florida for their regular season home finale at Gettler Stadium on Sunday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET and live coverage will air on ESPN+. Admission is free and open to the public.
THE SERIES
This is the 31st-ever meeting between the two programs. Cincinnati trails in the all-time series, 11-14-5. The Bearcats are 7-4-2 at home, 3-10-1 on the road and 1-0-2 in neutral site matches against the Bulls. The 31 meetings are the second most of any series in program history, trailing only 34 matches against Xavier. The two programs last played on Oct. 21, 2021, where the Bearcats fell 0-2 in Tampa. Cincinnati is outscoring South Florida in the series, 47-42.
LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati secured a 2-0 win over Houston on Thursday at Gettler Stadium. Vanessa DiNardo played a pass through the attacking third to Megan Smith, who controlled the touch and redirected the ball past the goalkeeper for her fourth goal of the season to take an early 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute. The Bearcats outshot the Cougars 10-5, 6-2 in corner kicks to command the lead at half for the seventh time this season. Cincinnati found insurance in the 81st minute when Sarah Kate Rath sent a ball into the box after a string of passes along the right side of the pitch, where Maddie Swingle finished off the great run of play with a strike that found the top left corner of the frame. It marks the first collegiate assist for Rath. Anna Rexford tied a career-high six saves, which she has done in four career matches, and posted her first clean sheet since Sept. 11. Five of the six points were recorded by freshman.
COMPARED TO THE CONFERENCE
At .643, Cincinnati has the second best win percentage in the conference. The Bearcats have the third best margin of victory in the AAC (+0.64). Cincinnati is second in the conference in total home attendance (4,580) and average (573/Game), trailing only SMU. At 6-0-2, the Bearcats are one of two AAC teams that remain unbeaten at home. Anna Rexford has ranks third in the conference with five shutouts and goals against average (1.09). Vanessa DiNardo is tied for third (35) and Brandi Thomsen is tied for eighth (29) in the conference in shots. Vanessa DiNardo, Paige Miller and Megan Smith are one of 15 AAC players with four goals this season. All three rank in the top-10 in goals per game (Miller, 7th - 0.33; DiNardo, Smith, 9th - 0.29). Lauren Bastian and Thomsen are one of 18 AAC players with at least three assists. Bastian ranks fifth in the conference with 0.27 assists per game, totaling three over 11 matches. Cincinnati is second in goals per game (1.79), second in shots per game (13.79), second in points per game (4.86), tied for second in goals (25), third in shots (193) and fourth in assists (18).
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
Five of the sixth points against Houston were recorded by freshman. Megan Smith and Paige Miller are tied with Vanessa DiNardo with a team-high four goals, tied for second with nine points. Six players in their first or second season have tallied a goal, while four have logged over 500 minutes - Schmelzer, Swingle, Smith, Miller.
EMMA SCHMELZER NAMED TO AAC HONOR ROLL ON OCT. 17
Sophomore midfielder Emma Schmelzer was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll on Monday. This is the first time in her career that she has earned a spot on the weekly honor roll. The Bearcats have garnered a conference honor (Offensive, Defensive, Goalkeeper, Rookie) in five weeks this season, the most since Cincinnati secured nine in 2017. Schmelzer notched the Bearcats' opening goal, her second of the season, off a set piece from Lauren Bastian in the 14th minute of a 2-2 draw with SMU last Sunday. She played 81 of the 90 minutes against the Mustangs. She has tallied both of her goals over the last four matches.
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, 12 different players have scored a goal through 14 matches this season compared to 12 all of last season, while 11 different players have recorded an assist. 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. Anna Rexford has recorded five clean sheets this season, which ranks third in the conference.
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