TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati women's soccer team closes out the regular season when the Bearcats take on East Carolina at Johnson Stadium on Thursday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and live coverage will air on ESPN+.
Cincinnati clinched a berth in the 2022 American Athletic Conference Championship with a 1-0 home win over USF last Sunday. The Bearcats currently stand as the fourth-seed in the conference tournament with an opportunity to improve to the two-seed and secure a first-round bye depending on Thursday's matches.
THE SERIES
This is the 13th-ever meeting between the two programs. Cincinnati leads the all-time series, 8-2-3. The Bearcats are 4-1-2 at home, 3-1-1 on the road and 1-0-0 in neutral site matches against the Pirates. The two programs last played on Sept. 30, 2021, where the Bearcats played to a 1-1 (2OT) draw with the Pirates at Gettler Stadium. After trailing 1-0 at half, Cincinnati found the equalizer on a strike from Kendall Battle in the 54th minute. Cincinnati came out victorious in the last match at Johnson Stadium, defeating East Carolina 2-1 on March 27, 2021. Cincinnati is outscoring South Florida in the series, 18-8. The Bearcats have won five of eight matches under head coach Neil Stafford with longest win streak (4) in the series coming in the first four matches of his tenure.
LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati secured a berth to the conference tournament with a 1-0 win over USF at Gettler Stadium last Sunday. A misplayed clear by Bulls' goalkeeper Sydney Martinez at the top of the box early in the match was played right to graduate midfielder Brandi Thomsen, who deflected the ball into the net to provide the Bearcats an early lead in the third minute. The Bearcats also clinched an undefeated regular season home record (7-0-2) for the first time since 2017. It marks the second undefeated home season under Stafford and the sixth perfect home slate in program history. Anna Rexford finished with her sixth clean sheet of the season, second straight shutout, to extend her season save total to 36. The six shutouts by Rexford are tied for second in the conference.
CINCINNATI COLLECTS THREE AAC WEEKLY HONORS ON OCT. 24
Junior goalkeeper Anna Rexford, freshman forward/midfielder Megan Smith and graduate midfielder Brandi Thomsen secured American Athletic Conference weekly honors on Monday. Rexford was named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time this season, while Smith picked up her third Rookie of the Week honors and Thomsen earned a spot on the honor roll. It is the sixth week this season that the Bearcats have claimed one of the four main honors, the most since 2017. Rexford posted a pair of clean sheets in victories over Houston and South Florida last week, moving into a tie for second in the conference with six shutouts on the season. She played all 180 minutes between the posts, totaling seven saves, including tying a career-high six against the Cougars. Smith notched her team-high fourth goal this season on the Bearcats' opening tally in the 42nd minute against Houston. She is one of 16 AAC players with four goals this season. Smith is the only Bearcat to win AAC Rookie of the Week honors three times in a single season. Thomsen notched the game winner in a 1-0 win over South Florida to secure a postseason berth for the Bearcats. The goal was the second for Thomsen this fall, who logged 154 of the 180 minutes over the last week's matches.
GETTLER IS A TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY
Sunday clinched an undefeated regular season home record (7-0-2) for the first time since 2017 (8-0-3). It marks the second undefeated home season under Stafford and the sixth perfect home slate in program history. Seven wins at home ties the second most in a single season in program history. The Bearcats are second in the conference in total home attendance (4,997) and average (555/Game), trailing only SMU. At 6-0-2, the Bearcats are one of two AAC teams (Memphis, 5-0-2) who finished the regular season unbeaten at home.
COMPARED TO THE CONFERENCE
At .667, Cincinnati has the second best win percentage in the conference. Cincinnati has the third best margin of victory in the AAC (+0.67). Cincinnati is second in goals per game (1.76), second in goals (26), second in shots per game (13.53), third in points (70), third in shots (203), third in shutouts (6), fourth in assists (18). Anna Rexford has recorded six shutouts this season, which is tied for second in the conference. She ranks third in goals against average (1.01). Vanessa DiNardo is tied for third (38), Brandi Thomsen is tied for eighth (32) in the conference in shots. Vanessa DiNardo, Paige Miller and Megan Smith are one of 16 AAC players with four goals this season. Lauren Bastian and Brandi Thomsen are one of 19 AAC players with at least three assists.
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, including three freshman, have recorded a goal, four 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. Five players in their first or second season have logged over 500 minutes. (Schmelzer, Spaulding Swingle, Smith, Miller), while three have earned either weekly AAC honors or honor roll this season (Megan Smith- Rookie of the Week x3, Paige Miller - Offensive Player of the Week, Emma Schmelzer - Honor Roll)
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