Final Stats

A strong defensive effort by the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team enabled them to defeat SMU, 1-0, at Gettler Stadium on Thursday night.

The Bearcats (9-5-2, 3-3-0 American) put the Mustangs (6-10-0, 2-4-0 American) on their heels early in the match as they controlled possession for most of the half and fired off six shots. The most threatening scoring opportunity came in the 17^th minute as senior Emily Elsbrock trickled a shot just wide of the right post.

Despite dominating the first 45 minutes and holding SMU without a shot, the two American Athletic Conference foes headed into the intermission scoreless.

But the stalemate didn't last long into the second half as junior Laura Rose tallied the game-winning goal in the 47^th minute.

UC's defense would slightly bend in the second half with the Mustangs tallying three shots, but senior goalkeeper Kristina Utley orchestrated the defense to a shutout.

CIN - Laura Rose (Jae Atkinson), 47^th
Atkinson sent a long pass from the backline towards the SMU end line. Rose chased it down and fought off a defender to gain possession. The junior went one-on-one with the keeper and drilled a ball over her shoulder and into the upper right corner. CIN 1, SMU 0

MATCH NOTES
- UC improves to 6-1-1 at home this season and 10-3-2 since Stafford took over the program last fall.
- The Bearcats have shutout five opponents at Gettler Stadium this fall, including their last two matches.
- Atkinson tallied her 11^th assist of the season and is now tied for second in school history with Tina Matlock (1996). She also moves into sole possession of eighth on the career list with 17 assists.
- Kr. Utley garnered her first win of the season and her first individual shutout.

NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats close out their 2014 home slate on Sunday afternoon against Houston. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m., and eight UC seniors will be honored prior to the kickoff.

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