University of Louisville
9-3-2, 5-3-1AAC
Cincinnati
6-9-1, 1-5-0AAC
No. 6 Men's Soccer Falls at Cincinnati
October 23, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 23, 2013
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The sixth-ranked Louisville men's soccer team had its nine-game unbeaten streak halted with a 2-0 loss at Cincinnati on a brisk Wednesday night at Gettler Stadium.
Suffering its first loss since Sept. 13, the league-leading Cardinals dropped to 4-1-1 in American Athletic Conference action and 9-3-2 overall. With their third straight win overall and their first conference win, the Bearcats improved to 5-9-1 overall and 1-5-0 in the league. The loss also ended Louisville's six-game winning streak against Cincinnati.
"It was a disappointing game for us today because we simply didn't have the energy, determination and commitment to win tonight," said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla. "We paid the price for it and we will learn the lessons from it moving forward."
The Bearcats struck first early in Wednesday's match when John Manga took a pass up the middle from Alan Rovira and scored past Louisville junior goalkeeper Joachim Ball as he charged up from his line for the 1-0 lead in the 12th minute. The goal for Manga was his third of the season while the assist for Rovira was his second.
Less than 12 minutes later, Cincinnati pushed its lead to 2-0 when Will Diebold took a feed from Christian Myton in the corner and scored inside the far left post in the 24th minute. It was the second goal of the season for Diebold and the first assist for Myton.
After taking the two-goal advantage into the halftime break, the Bearcats made the lead stand as Louisville was shutout for the third time this season but the first since the 1-0 loss to UC Irvine on Sept. 13. Overall, the Cardinals were outshot 16-6 by the Bearcats, including a 9-0 margin in the first half. Cincinnati also had an 8-2edge in shots on goal.
Defensively, goalkeeper Alex Gill had two saves en route to clinching the Bearcats' third shutout of the season. For Louisville, Ball had six saves in defeat.
Up next, Louisville remains on the road for another American Athletic Conference match at Memphis on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The Cardinals' next home match is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., ET against Saint Louis.
Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.
Team Stats
MANGA, John (3)
Assisted By: ROVIRA, Alan
Took feed up the middle and slid it past
11:38
DIEBOLD, Will (2)
Assisted By: MYTON, Christian
Took feed from far corner and beat keepe
23:16
