Oct. 10, 2009
Final Stats
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Cincinnati Bearcats (8-5-0 overall, 3-4-0 BIG EAST) picked up an early goal and never trailed on the way to a 2-1 victory over the Villanova Wildcats (6-5-2 overall, 3-3-1 BIG EAST) in a men's soccer game played here on Saturday night.
Cincinnati got the early jump when it capitalized on a Wildcat miscue in the 13th minute. The Bearcats' Mark Konitsch intercepted an errant Villanova pass and came in to fire one past Wildcat goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan at 13:18. The unassisted goal was Konitsch's fourth of the campaign.
"We put ourselves in a hole with a mistake," VU head coach Tom Carlin stated. "It was unfortunate - we really weren't in a threatening situation and yet turned it over and Cincinnati took advantage."
Neither squad scored again the game's first 45 minutes and Cincinnati owned a 7-5 edge in shots in the period.
"I thought we weren't getting it behind their defense as well as we wanted to in the first half," Carlin noted. "We addressed that at halftime and I thought our guys did a much better job of being aggressive in the second half."
The Wildcats pushed the action but a pivotal moment took place at 54:59. Villanova senior Adam Amann received his second yellow card of the night - one of six assessed in the contest - and with it came an automatic ejection (red card). The red card meant VU would play the balance of the night down a man.
"I liked the way our guys battled," Carlin said. "Even when we were a man down, we still put pressure on them and nearly got it tied."
Villanova's best chance came when senior Mike Seamon sent one off the crossbar.
Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead off a free kick in the 77th minute. Nick Weightman sent the ball into the box and Matt Bahner headed the ball into the net for his third goal of the season.
The Wildcats kept coming, though, and finally broke through when Anthony Griffith scored an unassisted goal at 83:41 to cut the deficit to 2-1. The goal was Griffith's second of the 2009 season.
The Bearcats managed to hold on in the final six minutes to claim the win.
"We really showed resiliency in the face of some adversity," stated Carlin.
This game completes what was a hectic week for the `Cats, with a pair of BIG EAST road matches at Syracuse and Cincinnati during mid-term exam week. Now Villanova gets a chance to catch its breath, as it will be off until it hosts DePaul next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
"We're a little nicked up and the week off will help us get some guys healthy," Carlin stated. "We'll put all of our efforts into getting ready for DePaul. That will be an important game for us. We're coming down to the end of the season and this is the time when you have to step up if you want to be a BIG EAST Tournament team."
