Cincinnati Soccer: Bearcats blank Northern Kentucky in the Riverboat Rivalry

After a slow start in the season opener, Cincinnati scored two goals early in the second half to pull away from Northern Kentucky on Thursday night. The Bearcats start this season with a 2-0 victory and improve to 6-1 in the Riverboat Rivalry.

Both teams came out with a lot of defensive intensity and energy but neither was able to capitalize on several scoring chances in the first half. Cincinnati racked up 10 shots and four corners in 45 minutes but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Just moments into the second half, Vyviene Spaulding finally found a way to break the drought and give the Bearcats a narrow lead. Spaulding was making her regular season debut with the program after transferring from Rice during the offseason.

In the 60th minute, Brandi Thomsen put the Bearcats up 2-0 with a smooth turnaround goal from just outside the box. Lauren Bastian started the sequence with a corner kick and Thomsen eventually corralled the ball and scored to increase the lead.

Cincinnati Soccer: Bearcats blank Northern Kentucky in the Riverboat Rivalry

Northern Kentucky tried to create opportunities to score but the Bearcats defense didn’t allow any clean looks at the net as AAC Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Barron and junior goalkeeper Anna Rexford controlled the pace from start to finish.

Cincinnati head coach Neil Stafford broke down the season-opening win via Cincinnati Athletics:

"“I think there’s a new look to the team. We have a lot of newcomers. I think we have some influential transfers. We have some freshmen that have really stepped up right away. It’s really about bringing it all together.”"

The Bearcats compiled 17 total shots, compared to only two shots from Northern Kentucky. If the defense can continue to play at such an elite level, Cincinnati might pull off an upset over Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium.

Stafford explained how the team showed improvement on opening night per Cincinnati Athletics:

"“I saw us grow from the preseason. It was nice to see us have a little bit more of an edge tonight. I just want to give full credit to the women because I think they were incredibly resilient bouncing back from two difficult preseason games.”"