The Bearcats (5-2-6) (1-1-3 AAC) welcomed in Houston (5-5-3) (1-2-2 AAC) to Gettler Stadium for a evening showdown as they wrap up the final week of conference play. The Bearcats are coming off a week where sophomore midfielder Emma Schmelzer was named to the AAC Honor Roll where she lead the Bearcats with two goals last week in the Bearcats three matches.
The Bearcats currently sit 6th in the AAC and are looking to climb the ranks heading into the final weekend as they are looking to make a late push and with a win over Houston and or USF this Sunday the Bearcats could solidify their spot in the AAC Conference tournament. The Cougars sit right below the Bearcats at 7th in the AAC standings as of today, so this match up could really benefit the Bearcats if they can get a few points on the board tonight as they head down the final stretch.
The Starters for the Bearcats- Vanessa DiNardo, Vyviene Spaulding, Brandi Thomsen, Lauren Bastain, Maddie Thiss, Ashley Barron, Kendal Battle, Emma Schmelzer, Maddie Swingle, Paige Miller, Anna Rexford.
Starters for the Cougars- Emma Clarke, Taylor Garza-Freeman, Madison Gear, Caitlyn Matthews, Alex Whitcraft, Adriana Hutson, Samantha Wiehe, Addie Tate, Cordelia Cross, Anna Reysa, Haley Woodward.
The Bearcats saw some early opportunities as Paige Miller was looking to get the Bearcats on the board early as her shot off her right foot was saved by Cougars goalie Haley Woodward in the 2nd minute. The Bearcats were looking to find Vanessa DiNardo in space as they were really looking to get her involved in the offense early to start here at Gettler Stadium, as DiNardo leads the team in goals and was looking to find a way to get the Bearcats an early lead. The Bearcats would see Maddie Swingle get a great look on the goal in the 6th minute, but her shot missed wide of the net and the Cougars caught an early break. The Bearcats would see another great opportunity in the 19th minute as Kendal Battle would find Brandi Thomsen on a great ball in the box, but Haley Woodward made an incredible save to keep this a 0-0 match, but the Bearcats were looking to push the ball up the pitch early.
The Bearcats would see another great opportunity in the 26th minute as Lauren Bastain would fire a beautiful corner kick inside the box, where Ashley Barron would connect on the ball in the box, but her shot just hit the top of the woodwork. The Bearcats would keep pushing the ball up the pitch, this time a minute later as Vanessa DiNardo fired an absolute missile from just outside the 18 yard box, where Haley Woodward made another incredible save, her third of the match, as the redshirt freshman goalie was having her hands full with the Bearcats early here in the first half.
The Bearcats would see a late push as they brought in speedster Megan Smith in the 28th minute, where she saw two great opportunities late in the first half. Vanessa DiNardo would play a beautiful ball to find a streaking Megan Smith, where Smith would find the back of the net to give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute, Smith’s fourth goal of the season as she snuck one by Haley Woodward who was having a tremendous first half before Smith would beat her defender and give the Bearcats an early lead over the Cougars.
