Cincinnati Captures Regular Season Women's Soccer Championship

CHICAGO - With its 1-0 win over East Carolina on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bearcats have captured the 2001 Conference USA regular season women's soccer championship. The regular season title is the first for UC since the 1995 Bearcats shared the inaugural C-USA title.

Sophomore Tasha Wagner provided all the defense would need scoring the match's only goal at 60:35. Wagner called for the ball to the right of the goal and freshman Marie Strelka's found Wagner's foot and she knocked it home from ten yards out to give UC a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

The win improves UC's overall record to 14-3 with a 9-0 C-USA mark. East Carolina falls to 10-7 and 6-3 in C-USA. They will face the No. 8 seed in the first round
of the tournament which kicks off on Wednesday, Nov. 7 in Milwaukee, Wis.

Senior Day at Meyers Field was one of record-setting proportions for senior goalie Christy Hoffman . Hoffman's 10th solo shutout of the year moves her into a tie atop the career UC shutouts chart with Laura Kerr. She also broke the single season mark for shutouts in a season with 10.5, surpassing Chris Jones' 1982 mark. In addition, Hoffman
is the new record holder for most shutouts in a season at Meyers Field with 4.5, eclipsing a mark shared by she shared with Katrina Smolarczyk.

UC dominated the match statistically, outshooting the Pirates by a final margin of 15-1. Hoffman needed just one save in the shutout, while ECU's Lauren Wolff stopped seven shots.

"This team is just finding ways to get it done," said Bearcat coach Meridy Glenn. "They should be proud of themselves, but I don't think they've peeked yet. This (the championship) is kind of like the 200th win, I think we will appreciate it more later. Right now, we just have to stay focused for Louisville."

The aforementioned match up with the Cardinals is set for Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park in Louisville.