No. 14 Tech welcomes Cincinnati for first-time Sunday

Sunday, October 1

Lubbock, TX

1 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

Cincinnati

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No. 14 Tech welcomes Cincinnati for first-time Sunday

September 30, 2023 | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Tickets Waiver Form: Pups at the Pitch

The Red Raiders will look to improve to 5-0-0 in Big 12 play with a victory

By: Andrew Stern

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Fresh off a strong 2-0 win over Oklahoma, the No. 14 ranked Texas Tech women's soccer program plays host to the University of Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. from the John Walker Soccer Complex.

Sunday's match will be the annual "Pups at the Pitch" as Tech fans can bring their favorite four-legged friends.

The match will also feature a 'tye-dye' tee-shirt giveaway to the first 200 fans.

Tech enters the match riding a 19-match overall winning streak, 10-match conference-only unbeaten streak and a 10-match home winning streak.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: No. 14 Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-0-2, 4-0-0 Big 12) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5-4, 1-1-2 Big 12)
DATE: Sunday, Oct. 1
TIME: 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Lubbock, Texas (John Walker Soccer Complex)

LAST TIME OUT:
A familiar connection and a penalty kick goal powered No. 14 Texas Tech past the Oklahoma Sooners, 2-0, Thursday night at the electric John Walker Soccer Complex.

After a slow first half saw Texas Tech (10-0-2, 4-0-0 Big 12) held without a first half goal for the first time since the Sept. 10 match against Arizona State, the Red Raiders found their footing in the second half using a pair of goals off set pieces just 30 seconds apart to down Oklahoma (6-5-1, 2-1-1 Big 12) in front over a crowd of over 1900.

The first goal, off a perfect corner kick service from Macy Blackburn, was scored by senior captain Hannah Anderson. The goal was her fourth of the season and gave the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead 37 seconds into the 52nd minute.

With a goal added to the ledger, the Red Raiders kept searching for the decisive second goal.

The wait may have been shorter than expected, as a Sooner foul on Alex Kerr, deep in the 18-yard box awarded Tech a penalty kick just 30 seconds after the first goal.

After assisting on the first strike, Blackburn stepped up and added her second goal of the season, drilling a shot into the left-hand corner of the net.

The goal was all Madison White and the Red Raider backline needed, as the keeper made three saves to earn her 33rd career clean sheet and seventh of the season.

White has now allowed one goal or fewer in 20 consecutive matches, a streak that spans over a full calendar year.

By defeating Oklahoma, Tech earned its 10th victory of the season, eclipsing its win total for a season ago.

The 10-win season is the 11th for head coach Tom Stone in his 17 years in Lubbock.

Blackburn's assists on Anderson's game-winner was her 10th of the season, making her just the third player in Texas Tech history to record double-digit assists in season.

The Keller native needs just two assists the remainder of the season to tie Alli Murphy (2014) for the most single-season assists in program history and now has recorded 22 assists in her career. The assist tonight moved the outside back into a tie with Tech legend Kirsten Davis for fourth on the all-time assists list.

QUICK KICKS:
• The red-hot Texas Tech Red Raiders enter Sunday's clash against Cincinnati riding an 19-match overall unbeaten streak, and an 11-match unbeaten streak in Big 12 Conference play. The Red Raiders have also won their last 10 home matches at the John Walker Soccer Complex. Over that 10 match span, Tech is outscoring its opponents 31-2.
• Tech enters Sunday's game as one of three teams in the country (Penn State, Dartmouth) that have yet to trail in a match this season.
• In Tech's 2-0 victory over Oklahoma, the Red Raiders scored a pair of goals just 30 seconds apart. Defender Hannah Anderson began the scoring with a clutch header off a perfect Macy Blackburn corner kick service. The assist was Blackburns' 22nd of her career tying her for fourth all-time on the Red Raider assist mark and was her 10th of the season. Blackburn now needs just two more assists this season to tie the single season all-time assist mark.
• Anderson's goal was her fourth of the season and came in her 85th career match and 85th consecutive start. An- The Plano native tied her career-high in goals (2019) and also recorded her 29th and 30th career points.
• Goalie Madison White continues to be a force for the Red Raiders in net. White has now allowed one goal or fewer in 20 consecutive matches dating back to the 2022 season. The shutout against Oklahoma was White's fifth in her last seven matches and her seventh of the season. The Rockwall native needs just one more shutout to tie her career mark set back in 2019.
• White also lowered her goals-against-average to a salty 0.417, the sixth lowest mark in the country amongst goalies with at least 10 matches played. The goalies seven shutouts are tied for third-most in the country, trailing Ainsley Leja of Liberty and Halle Mackiewicz of Clemson by just one.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:
• Cincinnati enters Sunday's match riding a bit of momentum after earning a 1-1 draw on Thurs- day night against No. 6 BYU. In that contest, the Bearcats scored just 91 seconds into the contest to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, BYU used a Brecken Mozingo PK to tie the score. Cincinnati goalie Anna Rexford came up clutch for the Bearcats recording six saves on BYUs 26 total shots.
• The Bearcats are now 1-1-2 all-time in Big 12 play after earning a 1-1 draw at Kansas State sandwiched around a 1-0 loss to TCU and a 1-0 win over Iowa State.
• Of Cincy's 11 matches play so far this season a total of 10 have been decided by a goal or fewer. The one exception was a 4-1 loss back on Aug. 20 at Dayton.
• Cincinnati will head to Lubbock seeking its first road win of the season. So far UC is 0-3-3 on the road with the three losses coming at Michigan State, Dayton, and TCU. The Bearcats have faired better at Getler Stadium going 2-2-1 in five home matches.
• Cincinnati is midway through its first season both in the Big 12 Conference and under new lead- ership as former UAB head coach Erica Demers was named the sixth head coach in UC history back on Dec. 7, 2022. The 2022 CUSA Coach of the Year, Demers led UAB to a 9-4-5 record in 2022.
• So far this season, UC has scored nine goals in 11 matches. Three of those 11 goals have come from sophomore Megan Smith with two a piece coming from Ellie Flower and Laura Zemberyova.
• UC goalie Anna Rexford has helped anchor a stingy Bearcat backline that has recorded a pair of shutouts and has allowed just 14 goals in 11 matches.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders hit the road for a Thursday clash at No. 6 BYU. First kick from Provo is set for 8 p.m. (CT).