This afternoon the Bearcats (4-1-5) (0-0-2 AAC) welcome in the Temple Owls (1-6-4) (0-3-0 AAC) to Gettler Stadium for an afternoon showcase for their annual pink game in honor of breast cancer awareness month as they wrap up homecoming weekend. The Bearcats also are dedicating this game as the WePlayFor3 game, in honor of former Bearcat soccer player Ally Sidloski who tragically lost her life back in 2021. Prior to the game the Bearcats announced they will have a scholarship set up in honor of Ally Sidloski.
“I am just really happy. Brad has been working with the Sidloski family and now we have a scholarship to honor this incredible special young woman. Ally is someone we miss every day. The generosity of everyone supporting that, it is great to see the community get behind people, to see that love, support and comradery, really what it means to be a part of this Bearcat family is really special,” said head coach Neil Stafford.
Starters for the Bearcats- Megan Smith, Vanessa DiNardo, Vyviene Spalding, Brandi Thomsen, Lauren Bastain, Maddie Thiss, Kendall Battle, Ashley Barron, Emme Schmelzer, Paige Miller, Anne Rexford.
Starters for the Owls- Jessica Wallace, Roisen McGovern, Kathryn Cortiz, Eliza David, Moa Anderson, Aurrianna Parker, Sumaya Togba, Emily Kavanaugh, Carly Steinberg, Phoebe Hollin, Kyla Burns.
The Bearcats would look to push the ball down the pitch early after a Vanessa DiNardo shot sailed just high early in the 2nd minute and the Bearcats were looking to make a statement early here at Gettler Stadium. DiNardo would see another great opportunity in the 11th minute after her shot on the cross attempt missed just wide to the right, as the Bearcats continued to dominate the final third early. The Bearcats would take an early 1-0 lead after Vyviene Spalding found Paige Miller on a beautiful cross inside the box, where Miller was able to find the back of the net after a diving header would give Miller her third goal of the season.
“I mean that has to be up for goal of the year. That is what Paige does, she puts herself in dangerous positions, her starting position on the cross was exceptional, she was high on the shoulders of the defender, she’s very quick with her movement. That is early dynamic movement and then she lays herself out for an incredible diving header, that has to be on ESPN,” said Bearcats head coach Neil Stafford.
The Bearcats would continue to dominate the final third of the pitch as this time Emma Schmelzer would give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute after connecting on the follow up, her first goal of her collegiate career. The Bearcats were looking to keep it going offensively and get some points on the board heading down the final stretch of conference play. The Bearcats would look to extend their lead to 3-0 after a Lauren Bastain penalty kick but Owls goalkeeper Kyla Burns made an all-out save to keep the Owls in this one with 4 minutes before the half and would look to try to spark some momentum for the Owls.
The Bearcats would take a 2-0 lead to the break as they dominated the first half as they controlled the time of possession for most of the first half as they recorded 12 shots on goal in the first half en route to an early 2-0 lead over Temple behind goals from Paige Miller and Emma Schmelzer as the Bearcats offense was starting to click
The Bearcats were looking to add onto their lead as the continued to dominate the final third to start the second half as they recorded six shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half, including an absolute missile by DiNardo that was just wide left as the graduate forward was looking to add to her team lead four goals. Vyviene Spaulding would make an immediate impact after missing most of the season due to injury, but the sophomore was continuing to make a huge impact for the Bearcats since returning from injury last week and we saw that on display here today at Gettler Stadium.
The Owls would respond with a goal of their own as Carly Steinberg would sneak one by Anna Rexford off the Owls corner kick as they were looking to make a comeback here in the second half after the Bearcats dominated the first half. The Owls would look to try to make a late comeback here, but the Bearcats would slam the door on this one after Vyviene Spaulding would connect with Paige Miller for her second goal of the match to give the Bearcats a 3-1 lead in the 88th minute.
The Bearcats hold on to defeat the Owls 3-1 behind a pair of goals from Paige Miller and Emma Schmelzer as the Bearcats bounce back in the win column and improve to 5-1-5 on the season.
“It’s great getting three points as those are three valuable points as nobody makes it easy for you in this conference and we felt that in Tulsa on Thursday night. I am very proud of our overall performance, I never felt Temple was really in the game, they defiantly gained a slight momentum from the corner kick, but I thought we had great control of the game,” said Bearcats head coach Neil Stafford.
The Bearcats improve to 5-1-5 on the season, as they pick up their first conference win off the season. The Bearcats will be back in action this Thursday when they travel to Orlando to take on UCF as the original match was postponed due to hurricane Ian.
