This afternoon the Bearcats (2-0-2) welcomed in Stony Brook Seawolves (3-1-0) for early afternoon showdown here at Gettler Stadium. The Bearcats, led by Neil Stafford are coming off a busy week, where they wrapped up a 2-0 victory over Murray State behind goals from senior defender Ashley Barron, and sophomore forward Ellie Flower. The Bearcats finished the week 1-0-2 after draws with Michigan State and Bowling Green.
Bearcats’ junior goalkeeper Anna Rexford is coming off a week where she recorded 7 saves, including her 100th career save, Rexford currently leads the AAC with three shutouts, and a 0.900 save percentage after allowing only one goal so far this season in the Bearcats 4 matches. This is the first time in program history that the Bearcats will take on Stony Brook University, as they remain one of the three remaining unbeaten AAC teams to start the season where they are joined by UCF and SMU, the first time in Neil Stafford’s 10-year career, the remain unbeaten through the first four matches.
Starting 11 for the Bearcats- Ashley Barron, Vanessa Dinardo, Brandi Thomsen, Sarah Kate Rath, Kendall Battle, Kendal Green, Mackenzie Tucker, Ellie Flower, Maddie McSwingle, Emma Schmelzer, Anna Rexford.
Starting 11 for the Seawolves- Catharina Von Drigalski, Nicolette Pasquarella, Linn Beck, Hannah Maracina, Reilly Rich, Ashley Manor, Kerry Pearson, Gabrielle Cote, Morayo Adenegan, Angelina Lent, Gabby Daniels.
The Bearcats would get on the board early, after an Emma Schmelzer shot just misses the net high, The Bearcats would get a beautiful corner kick from Mackenzie Tucker, that would set sophomore Ellie Flower up for a beautiful header that would find the back of the net that would give the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute. The Bearcats would find a lot of opportunities early as they had four shots on goal within the first 7 minutes, as the Bearcats were dominating the front third early. The Bearcats would continue to push the ball over the top and control the tempo, striking an early 2-0 lead in the 18th minute after McKenzie Tucker finds Sarah Kate Rath for her first collegiate goal as her header finds the bottom left of the net, Tuckers second assist of the match.
The Seawolves wouldn’t be able to find any momentum on the offensive end in the first half, as the Bearcats dominated this one in the first half, outshooting the Seawolves 11-2 in the first half. Stony Brook was having a lot of trouble as Neil Stafford and the Bearcats showed their hand early as they rotated 11 players throughout the first half, firing on all angles. Sarah Kate Rath, the freshman out of Brentwood, Tennesse led the way with three shots, playing a huge role for the Bearcats in the front third here early at Gettler Stadium. Neil Stafford and the Bearcats were making it really difficult for the Seawolves as they were looking to remain unbeaten to start the 2022 season.
The Bearcats would start the second half firing after an early shot on goal, the Bearcats were looking to continue what they had started in the first half after dominating the front third early, the Bearcats were looking to put this one here at Gettler Stadium. The Seawolves would start to find some momentum as they were looking to strike offensively and get back in this one after a Reilly Rich shot sneaks by the outstretched Anna Rexford to get the Seawolves on the board where they trailed the Bearcats 2-1 in the 55th minute.
The Bearcats would continue to strike offensively after freshman Megan Smith would sneak into the box and find the back of the net for her first collegiate goal to give the Bearcats a 3-1 lead over Stony Brook here in the 72nd minute. Smith, has a been a key player for the Bearcats here throughout the first 5 matches. The Bearcats would take a 4-1 lead in the 87 minutes as Paige Miller would record her first career goal to extend the Bearcats lead. However, that wouldn’t be it for the Bearcats as Megan Smith would record her 2nd goal of the day to give the Bearcats a 5-1 lead in the 88th minute.
The Bearcat’s high-powered offense was just too much for the Seawolves here today at Gettler Stadium where they hold on to defeat the Stony Brook Seawolves 5-1 in an early afternoon battle. The Bearcats now improve to 3-0-2 on the season and remain unbeaten to start the 2022 season after recording 5 goals for the first time since September 5th, 2021 where the Bearcats defeated Eastern Illinois 5-0, recording the most goals in a match since 2014. The Bearcats dominated today where they outshot the Seawolves 22-5, led by Freshman Megan Smith, who recorded her first two colligate goals. Smith has played a huge role for the Bearcats to start the season and is off to a great start to her Bearcats career, as she now is tied for goals on the team following her two-goal performance today.
“It was really exciting, it shows our hard work is paying off, like my teammate Sarah Kate Rath, it was her first goal as well, we both described it as an incredible feeling and something you can’t compare too, it’s the best feeling ever. It’s a relief to get those first two out of the way, it’s something I can even describe the way I just jumped up was so crazy, it was like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders,” said Smith.
The Bearcats also saw goals from Ellie Flower, Paige Miller, Sarah Kate Rath en route to their 5-1 victory over Stony Brook, two of those were assisted by sophomore Mackenzie Tucker.
“It was really great to see the younger woman make an impact on the field; they saw a lot of minutes. It was really good to see Megan get what she deserves. I know she has been a little frustrated with herself but today you saw her quality, her ability to go after players. I thought when we got her in isolation, and those 1-1 situations, she was always going to be dangerous. Sarah Kate, she probably could’ve had 2-3 goals today herself. We are just so happy the younger class played a big role in our win today. I thought today our kids really got in difficult positions and created havoc.”
Ellie Flower recorded her second goal of the season after connecting off a corner kick from Mackenzie Tucker in the 2nd minute. Flowers goal would be the 5th fastest goal scored under head coach Neil Stafford. Flower has battled all kinds of adversity throughout her Bearcat career after missing the 2021 season with 1 of 3 major knee injuries, the redshirt junior is now off to a tremendous start to the season and becoming a vocal point for this Bearcats team.
“That girl is as resilient as it gets, I am really proud to see players, to where we can speak to them on resilience, Ellie Flower is someone who has overcome real adversity with injuries, and that can take a real toll on a player’s mental state and for her, she’s been an absolute warrior, couldn’t be prouder of her. That is some of that west side grit that I am very proud of, to see her being rewarded for her efforts not just on the field, but off the field, her efforts in rehab, everything she has done in the training room leading up to this season all credit to her.”
Bearcats’ goalkeeper Anna Rexford continued her stellar play to her junior season, where she is coming off a week where she was named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week. Rexford recorded another huge save today for the Bearcats and was dominant in the net vs a high-powered Stony Brook offense.
“Well, I think Anna’s success is down to how well our backs have been playing this season, I think it’s a collaborative effort. Anna has grown leaps and bounds, we have to recognize the job Jake Cowans is doing as our goalkeeper coach, Jake and Kyle Venter have Anna and sophomore Payton Hasse at a higher level. Payton Hasse has been unbelievable in training, it’s just a matter of time before she gets her opportunity, but what they do in training is what is really helping Anna grow exponentially. Anna has just evolved into a mature leader who is organizing, and her personality is really shining through, it is great to see Anna developing so much.”
The Bearcats who now sit 3-0-2 on the season will be back in action this Sunday when they travel to Pennsylvania to take on Pittsburgh vs a very talent Panther team where they will look to remain unbeaten as the Panthers are currently 5-0 on the season.
