TicketsCINCINNATI — The No. 9 University of Cincinnati women's soccer team (3-7-7, 2-3-5) is set to face the No. 8 seed Baylor (9-6-3, 4-4-2) on Saturday in the first round of the 2023 Sprouts Framers Market Big 12 Championships at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas.
The Big 12 Championships will begin on Saturday, Oct. 28 and conclude on Saturday Nov. 4. The championships will be air exclusively on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A subscription to the streaming service is required to watch the games. Fans can also follow along with the live stats found here. Fans wishing to attend the championships can find ticket information here.
Cincinnati's match will be the opening match of the championship tournament and kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and the winner of the match will advance to the next round to face No.1 seed Texas Tech on Monday. The complete championship bracket can be found here.
// BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT
Cincinnati is in its inaugural season in the Big 12 since the Bearcats were one of four teams to join the conference on July 1. Cincinnati finished the regular season with a record of 2-3-5 in conference play, earning the ninth seed in the championships with 11 points, despite being picked to finish 13th and miss the championship tournament in the preseason poll. The top 10 teams in the conference all qualified for the tournament, while the top six earned first-round byes.
// CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Cincinnati has won eight conference titles across five leagues since the team's formation in 1980. Cincinnati last won a conference championship in 2015, when the Bearcats defeated then-ranked No. 10 UConn 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals to advance to the championship match, where they took No. 25 USF to the wire, winning on penalty kicks after two overtime periods to claim the conference title.
The Bearcats fell 1-0 to SMU in the opening round of the AAC Championships last fall. UC holds an all-time record of 24-12-0 across 19 different conference championships. The Bearcats last conference championship win occurred in 2020 when UC beat Memphis 1-0 in the first round.
// A NEUTRAL SITE SHOWDOWN
With the Big 12 Championship being held on a neutral site, it will mark the Bearcats first neutral site match since the 2020 AAC Championships when UC lost 4-0 to USF in the AAC semifinals. Cincinnati holds an all-time record of 37-24-11 on a neutral playing field.
// IF EXTRA TIME IS NEEDED…
Cincinnati holds an all-time mark of 39-37-64 in overtime matches. Due to the 2022 rule change of no more regular season overtime matches, UC last overtime match occurred during the 2021 season when the Bearcats escaped Murray State with a 2-1 win on the road. Cincinnati's last conference overtime match was in the 2016 AAC Championship when the Bearcats lost on penalty kicks to USF in the first round.
// THE REMATCH
The Bearcats will square off against Baylor for the second time this season. The match on Oct. 12 was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Baylor was one of six new conference opponents the Bearcats faced for the first time in program history this season.
Last time the two teams met, the match ended in a 2-2 draw in Waco, Texas. Both graduate student Ashley Barron and sophomore Sarah Kate Rath scored their first goals for the season in Cincinnati's second multi-goal game of the season.
Down 2-1 in the 86th minute, Rath netted the equalizing goal off a rebound shot from senior Ellie Flower. The goal marked Rath's second of her career. Flower earned her first career assist on the play.
Cincinnati jumped out to the early lead as Barron out-jumped the Baylor backline, heading in the first goal of the match in the 14th minute off a free kick set piece from a junior Fran Stables.
// SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Last time out, Baylor defeated Houston 3-2 in its regular-season finale to clinch the number eighth seed in the tournament. Saturday's match will be the Bears' first championship appearance 2021, when Baylor lost to West Virginia, 1-0, in the first round.
Baylor is led by head coach Michelle Lenard, who is in her second season at the helm of the Bears after spending 14 seasons at DII Dallas Baptist. In her 16 years of coaching, she holds a career record of 214-94-29 and is 13-17-4 at Baylor.
// TEAM LEADERS
Sophomore Megan Smith, senior Ellie Flower and junior Laura Zemberyova are tied for the team lead in goals with three apiece. Junior Fran Stables has been the team's primary playmaker this season, leading the team in assists with four.
// CAREER HISTORY TO WATCH
Graduate student Ashley Barron ranks third all-time in non-GK minutes played with 6,931 after playing the full-time against WVU. She also recorded her 79th career start in her 80th career cap against UCF, the 10th most in program history. She has started 75 straight matches, dating back to 2019.
If Toledo, Ohio native plays the full 90 in Saturday's match, she will join Vanessa Giles and Kayla Utley as the only Bearcats ever to record over 7,000 career minutes played.
Senior goalkeeper Anna Rexford continues to climb the UC all-time career top-10 list in three different categories. She claimed her fourth clean sheet of the season against Oklahoma and her 15th career shutout, the seventh-most in program history.
The Wilmore Ky., native also ranks sixth in career wins (22) and is currently tied with former Bearcat Julie McCaffrey for the ninth most saves in UC history (198). If she records two more saves this season, she will become the eighth Bearcat in program history to record 200 saves.
// A NEW FACE TAKES CENTER STAGE
True freshman Emma Gioffre has made quite the impact for the Bearcats this season. She has appeared in all 17 games this season, starting in 15. She became the first true freshman to start in double-digit matches since Ashley Barron started 18 in 2019.
Gioffre has totaled 1,263 minutes this season, which ranks fourth in the Big 12 among freshmen. She is also one of three freshmen to reach the 1,000-minute mark in 14 games.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com and follow @GoBearcatsWSOC on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
The Big 12 Championships will begin on Saturday, Oct. 28 and conclude on Saturday Nov. 4. The championships will be air exclusively on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A subscription to the streaming service is required to watch the games. Fans can also follow along with the live stats found here. Fans wishing to attend the championships can find ticket information here.
Cincinnati's match will be the opening match of the championship tournament and kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and the winner of the match will advance to the next round to face No.1 seed Texas Tech on Monday. The complete championship bracket can be found here.
// BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP DEBUT
Cincinnati is in its inaugural season in the Big 12 since the Bearcats were one of four teams to join the conference on July 1. Cincinnati finished the regular season with a record of 2-3-5 in conference play, earning the ninth seed in the championships with 11 points, despite being picked to finish 13th and miss the championship tournament in the preseason poll. The top 10 teams in the conference all qualified for the tournament, while the top six earned first-round byes.
// CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Cincinnati has won eight conference titles across five leagues since the team's formation in 1980. Cincinnati last won a conference championship in 2015, when the Bearcats defeated then-ranked No. 10 UConn 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals to advance to the championship match, where they took No. 25 USF to the wire, winning on penalty kicks after two overtime periods to claim the conference title.
The Bearcats fell 1-0 to SMU in the opening round of the AAC Championships last fall. UC holds an all-time record of 24-12-0 across 19 different conference championships. The Bearcats last conference championship win occurred in 2020 when UC beat Memphis 1-0 in the first round.
// A NEUTRAL SITE SHOWDOWN
With the Big 12 Championship being held on a neutral site, it will mark the Bearcats first neutral site match since the 2020 AAC Championships when UC lost 4-0 to USF in the AAC semifinals. Cincinnati holds an all-time record of 37-24-11 on a neutral playing field.
// IF EXTRA TIME IS NEEDED…
Cincinnati holds an all-time mark of 39-37-64 in overtime matches. Due to the 2022 rule change of no more regular season overtime matches, UC last overtime match occurred during the 2021 season when the Bearcats escaped Murray State with a 2-1 win on the road. Cincinnati's last conference overtime match was in the 2016 AAC Championship when the Bearcats lost on penalty kicks to USF in the first round.
// THE REMATCH
The Bearcats will square off against Baylor for the second time this season. The match on Oct. 12 was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Baylor was one of six new conference opponents the Bearcats faced for the first time in program history this season.
Last time the two teams met, the match ended in a 2-2 draw in Waco, Texas. Both graduate student Ashley Barron and sophomore Sarah Kate Rath scored their first goals for the season in Cincinnati's second multi-goal game of the season.
Down 2-1 in the 86th minute, Rath netted the equalizing goal off a rebound shot from senior Ellie Flower. The goal marked Rath's second of her career. Flower earned her first career assist on the play.
Cincinnati jumped out to the early lead as Barron out-jumped the Baylor backline, heading in the first goal of the match in the 14th minute off a free kick set piece from a junior Fran Stables.
// SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Last time out, Baylor defeated Houston 3-2 in its regular-season finale to clinch the number eighth seed in the tournament. Saturday's match will be the Bears' first championship appearance 2021, when Baylor lost to West Virginia, 1-0, in the first round.
Baylor is led by head coach Michelle Lenard, who is in her second season at the helm of the Bears after spending 14 seasons at DII Dallas Baptist. In her 16 years of coaching, she holds a career record of 214-94-29 and is 13-17-4 at Baylor.
// TEAM LEADERS
Sophomore Megan Smith, senior Ellie Flower and junior Laura Zemberyova are tied for the team lead in goals with three apiece. Junior Fran Stables has been the team's primary playmaker this season, leading the team in assists with four.
// CAREER HISTORY TO WATCH
Graduate student Ashley Barron ranks third all-time in non-GK minutes played with 6,931 after playing the full-time against WVU. She also recorded her 79th career start in her 80th career cap against UCF, the 10th most in program history. She has started 75 straight matches, dating back to 2019.
If Toledo, Ohio native plays the full 90 in Saturday's match, she will join Vanessa Giles and Kayla Utley as the only Bearcats ever to record over 7,000 career minutes played.
Senior goalkeeper Anna Rexford continues to climb the UC all-time career top-10 list in three different categories. She claimed her fourth clean sheet of the season against Oklahoma and her 15th career shutout, the seventh-most in program history.
The Wilmore Ky., native also ranks sixth in career wins (22) and is currently tied with former Bearcat Julie McCaffrey for the ninth most saves in UC history (198). If she records two more saves this season, she will become the eighth Bearcat in program history to record 200 saves.
// A NEW FACE TAKES CENTER STAGE
True freshman Emma Gioffre has made quite the impact for the Bearcats this season. She has appeared in all 17 games this season, starting in 15. She became the first true freshman to start in double-digit matches since Ashley Barron started 18 in 2019.
Gioffre has totaled 1,263 minutes this season, which ranks fourth in the Big 12 among freshmen. She is also one of three freshmen to reach the 1,000-minute mark in 14 games.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati women's soccer, please visit GoBEARCATS.com and follow @GoBearcatsWSOC on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.