The News Record The University of Cincinnati men’s soccer team started the season strong, but after five straight losses to finish the year, the Bearcats didn’t qualify for the Big East Tournament.
“The bottom line is the standards of the program were not met this season,” said UC head coach Hylton Dayes.
The Bearcats finished the season with an overall record of 8-10-0 and 3-8-0 in the Big East.
“This is the first time we haven’t made the Big East Tournament, so it’s a little strange to be finished playing already,” Dayes said.
UC opened the season with a surge of goals in a 5-2 win at Dayton.
The Bearcats were undefeated through their first four games with 15 goals scored while conceding only two goals. It was the team’s best start since 1989.
“It was a disappointing season for us. We had the talent to compete with any team in the Big East; we had a big win over Notre Dame,” said senior midfielder Judson McKinney. “We bounced back in practices and started off games playing fairly well in the first half. I think it was just trying to put together a full 90-minute game.”
A 1-0 upset win at conference foe Norte Dame (ranked 21 at the time), was the highlight win of the season. Notre Dame finished second in the Big East.
The Big East had four teams that finished ranked in the top 25 in the final regular season poll.
In the last 13 games the Bearcats conceded 22 goals while scoring only 10 goals and finished with a 4-9 record during those games.
“We gave up goals at inopportune times, whether it was early in the game or late,” Dayes said.
The Bearcats’ fate was ultimately decided Oct. 7 against DePaul at home. UC took the lead but lost the game 2-1 in overtime. DePaul claimed the last spot in the conference tournament finishing with one more win than UC.
“We don’t want to make any excuses, ultimately we just didn’t get it done and everybody has to accept a part of the responsibility as to why we fell short of our expectations,” Dayes said.
The future is bright for the program though. Next season, the Bearcats will return six juniors including their top-four goal scorers.
“The leadership component will be important and I think we’re going to have enough seniors to get that key leadership,” Dayes said.
Branden Stelmak, the Bearcats’ leading scorer, also returns next season after scoring four goals and 12 points this year. Stelmak led the Bearcats in scoring for the second straight season.
“The guys start up training again tomorrow. We need to get better and improve in all areas,” Dayes said. “It was only 2006 when we were at the top of our division. I think that we understand what it takes to win in this league.”
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