This afternoon the Bearcats (6-2-6, 2-1-3 AAC) welcomed in USF (8-6, 5-1 AAC) for an afternoon showdown at Gettler Stadium as Neil Stafford and the Bearcats were looking to remain undefeated at home for the first time since 2017. The Bearcats knew if they would be able to sneak out a win today that they would be able to secure a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
The Bearcats starting 11 would consist of Vanessa DiNardo, Vyviene Spaulding, Brandi Thomsen, Lauren Bastain, Maddie Thiss, Kendal Battle, Ashley Barron, Emma Schmelzer, Maddie Swingle, Paige Miller, Anna Rexford.
The Bearcats would look to push the ball down the pitch early as the Bulls would look to stop the early momentum, but they had a quick self-inflicted wound after trying to clear the ball out, goalie Sydney Matinez would cough one up to Brandi Thomsen in the third minute as she set Thomsen up with a free shot on goal to give the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead. The Bearcats would know they had to stay tough as the Bulls are a very dominant and physical team in the open field.
The Bearcats defense would anchor the back line as Ashley Barron and Maddie Thiss controlled the defense and made Anna Rexford’s day very easy between the posts as the Bulls just couldn’t get anything going offensively here at Gettler Stadium as the Bulls would only record one shot on goal throughout the match. The Bearcats defense held strong as the Bulls held possession for nearly 55% of the match and that is something to really take note off as the Bulls came into this match second in the conference as they were looking to make a late run for a chance to win the AAC regular season championship.
The Bearcats came out and dominated as the early goal by Thomsen in the third minute, would eventually be the game winner as the Bearcats would hold on to win the match 1-0 to clinch a berth to the AAC Conference Championships in front of a very energetic crowd as the Bearcats stood strong and proved why Gettler Stadium is one of the hardest places to play at in college soccer, as they now finish the season a perfect 7-0-2 at home for the first time since 2017.
“We had a challenging schedule this season and I think that’s a feat those Woman on that 2017 team were special, we are really proud. I think we are difficult to play against and I think our results today showed that. The fans were amazing today, they brought tons of energy. You want to make the fans happy, and I think that the way we play our brand of soccer here I do think it makes people happy. It’s exciting and fun to watch, I am really proud of the energy from players and fans and even the staff that were in attendance it really was a great day,” said Bearcats head coach Neil Stafford.
The Bearcats will be back in action this Thursday as they travel to Greenville, North Carolina to take on the ECU Pirates as they look to make it three straight victories to close out the season where they could potentially clinch one more final home match up in the AAC Tournament.
