Sophomore Katy Couperus netted the lone goal of the match to give the University of Cincinnati women’s soccer team a 1-0 decision over Mississippi State. With the victory, the Bearcats move to 2-0 for the first time since 2010.

The Bulldogs came out firing early in the match as they forced redshirt sophomore Natalie Smith make three of her five saves of the match in the first 15 minutes. Following a few early substitutions, Cincinnati battled back to take a slight 11-10 advantage in shots by the end of the match. But it was the corner kicks that played a big role for the Bearcats, who had a 6-2 advantage, as their lone goal came off a Jae Atkinson corner kick.

GOAL SCORING SUMMARY
CIN – Katy Couperus (Jae Atkinson), 67’
Atkinson serviced up a corner into the box, and Couperus rose above the rest to head the ball into the far post.

STAFFORD’S STANCE
“We came out flat and played pretty immature early on, but we got stronger as the game progressed. Our fitness played a huge role in this game since we were more fit than Mississippi State. With the temperature being close to 100 degrees, we had to sub a good amount and let the girls share minutes. There are still things we need to fix, but that takes time and experience since we have so many young players. I would rather be fixing things at 2-0 than at 0-2.”

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT – KATY COUPERUS
“We were losing a little momentum, so we knew that we had to make something out of Jae’s corner. She lofted a great ball to the back of the net, and it just missed Vanessa’s [Gilles] head. Fortunately, I was there at the back post and headed it in.”

GAME NOTES
- For the first time since 2010, the Bearcats are 2-0 to start a season. It is also only the second time UC has accomplished the feat in the last 10 seasons, but it is the first time since 1981 that both matches were road victories.
- Dating back to last season, Couperus has garnered at least two points in four of the last five matches.
- Dating back to last season, Atkinson, who lead the team in points, has recorded a point in three of the last four games.

NEXT MATCH
The Bearcats hop back on the road Friday, Aug. 29 as they take on another SEC opponent in Vanderbilt. The match is slated to kickoff at 8 p.m. ET.