On a gorgeous night in Nippert Stadium, the women’s soccer programs of The University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University battled in the Inaugural Riverboat Rivalry. The city of Cincinnati showed their support of soccer by showing up in large numbers on Monday night. A huge crowd of 4,722 packed Nippert Stadium to set a new record for the highest attended women’s soccer match in the state of Ohio.
@FCCTheBailey is rocking @fccincinnati @GoBearcatsWSOC pic.twitter.com/e91lcE93in
— Cincy Soccer Talk (@cincysoccertalk) August 22, 2016
The Inaugural Riverboat rivalry had some great moments on and off the pitch. Members of FC Cincinnati supporters groups joined UC’s Rally Cats and the Ruckus to make an awesome atmosphere coming out of the Bailey. The experienced supporters quickly got UC students on board with cheers and began to support both teams to a noticeable level. The rest of the crowd fed off the Bailey and made for yet another great experience in Nippert.
UC began their season on Friday night with a thrilling 2-1 2OT win over Dayton in front of a program record 1,467 fans in Gettler Stadium. Junior Forward Julie Gavorski sent Dayton packing with a long strike with 11 seconds to go in the second overtime period.
NKU began on the road in Boone, N.C. vs. Appalachian State. The Norse were led by Freshman Ally Perkins, whose 35th minute goal put NKU up 1-0 at half, but the Norse couldn’t hold on as they dropped a 3-1 result.
On the field, things got going in a fury for UC. The UC offense out shot NKU 6-1 in the first minutes. UC scored off a beautiful flick on from Julie Gavorski. Gavorski took a laser and redirected it right past the NKU keeper Emily Lohmann. The NKU keeper was setting up for the initial shot and had little chance at stopping the redirect from Gavorski.
UC continued to dominate the middle of the field and made NKU switch to a 3-5-2 formation to gain any possession in the midfield. UC had a goal called back due to being off side and the Norse could only manage one more shot on goal before the half.
Coming out of halftime UC had two close opportunities in quick succession drawing more saves from Lohmann. NKU forward Macy Hamblin had the Norse best chance in the 61′ from a close shot from the left side of the box. UC Keeper Natalie Smith made a great save and notched her first clean sheet of the season.
Both squads showed immense talent and was an exciting game to witness. The city of Cincinnati is blessed to have several high quality college programs minutes away from most of the population. Look at our slide show and a video below.
Up Next:
UC – at Evansville – Friday, August 26th – 7 p.m. CST
NKU – at Eastern Kentucky – Thurs., August 25th – 5 p.m.
Thanks to @FCCTheBailey for bringing the noise tonight! pic.twitter.com/JyzSWFLRC5
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) August 23, 2016
Up Next for FC Cincinnati:
Rochester Rhinos – The sixth place Rochester Rhinos (10-5-9) visit Nippert Stadium on Wednesday night for FC Cincinnati’s first home match in almost a month. Rochester is coming off a huge home win as they defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-0. The Rhinos have gone W-T-W-L-T in their last 5 matches including a draw at Louisville. Coach Harkes’ squad looks to make up some points from some of their playoff competitors as they embark on a 8 game, 31 day stretch to close our their inaugural regular season. FCC will be without forward Sean “Ugo” Okoli on Wednesday night as he serves his suspension for yellow card accumulation.
@bryanjweigel for @cincysoccertalk
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