TicketsApril 14, 2009
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The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team welcomes BIG EAST rival Louisville to Nippert Stadium on Wednesday, April 15, for a 7 p.m. matchup. The Cardinals enter the game with a 7-5 overall record and a 1-4 BIG EAST record in 2009. Cincinnati looks to snap a five game losing streak against the Cardinals in the last home BIG EAST game of the season.
The BIG EAST rivalry contest will be Senior Night for UC's lone senior, Lindsey Marshall. Marshall, who has served as a team captain for the past two years, has provided leadership both on and off the field for the Bearcats. Marshall has a team-high 19 caused turnovers and has scored 27 of the Bearcats' 126 total goals this season, making her the second-leading scorer on the squad. Her goal scoring average of more than two goals per game has contributed to the Bearcats' scoring offense being ranked in the Top 60 nationally. Also honored at the game will be senior Jared Kagrise, the team manager for the Bearcats.
Cincinnati is coming off a 17-4 loss to No. 16/14 Loyola (Md.) on Saturday, April 11. Loyola quickly took the lead against the Bearcats and did not look back. Lindsey Marshall, Lynsey Burton, Natalie Starvaggi, and Jenn Doran each notched a goal for the Bearcats against the Greyhounds. On the defensive end, Katherine Russo recorded a career-high 17 saves in her 13th consecutive start in goal this season for the Bearcats.
Louisville, which is also in its first season of BIG EAST play, is led by Bergan Foley, who has 37 goals and four assists. Emily Dashiell, who has 35 goals and seven assists for the year, is also a player to watch on the Cardinals squad, as she was named to the lacrosse BIG EAST Honor Roll for the week ending April 5, 2009.
The Bearcats are led statistically by freshman Laura Simanski, who has 36 goals in 2009 as well as three assists for the season. Simanski overtook teammate Lindsey Marshall's 2008 season goal total of 30 to become the program's single-season goal leader. The freshman leads the team in goals (36), points (39), and shots (67). Simanski ranks 32nd in goals per game, 69th in total points, and 78th in points per game nationally.
Katherine Russo, who has started all 13 games for the Bearcats, was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season after her performance against nationally ranked Johns Hopkins and Villanova. The freshman goalkeeper was also named to the Honor Roll for the week of Feb. 23. Russo is ranked 2nd in the BIG EAST with an average of 10 saves per game. Russo will face Louisville's Jen Heup, the only goalkeeper who averages more saves per game than her in the BIG EAST. Russo ranks 26th in saves per game, 68th in save percentage and 71st in goals-against average nationally.
Lynsey Burton, MacKenzie Parsons, Lindsey Marshall, Laura Simanksi and Natalie Starvaggi each have 10-plus goals this season. Burton has scored the first goal of a game four times in her career - including the first goal in UC history, on a free position attempt at the 22:10 mark of the first period at Vanderbilt on Feb. 14, 2008. Parsons has 13 for the year while Starvaggi surpassed her number of goals scored in 2008 (8) at Connecticut (March 27) and has 13 goals in 2009.
Freshman Lauren Houck is UC's assist leader, dishing out an impressive 11 total assists and twice recording 4-assist games in 2009. Houck ranks 92nd in total assists and 102nd in assists per game nationally. Freshman Ali Mattingly leads the squad with 28 controlled draws while classmate LB Zinkand leads the team with 33 ground balls, helping the UC team to an impressive 25th national ranking for ground balls per game. Both Mattingly and Zinkand are ranked nationally for their efforts, with Mattingly being ranked 77th in the nation for controlled draws and Zinkand being placed at 56th nationally for ground balls. With both Mattingly and Parsons ranked nationally for controlled draws, the Cincinnati team as a whole ranks in the Top 50 nationally in the draw controls category.
Also on the defensive end, sophomore Lauren Kelly ranks fourth in the BIG EAST for ground balls per game, with an average of 2.60 in BIG EAST games. The sophomore is on track to break her freshman campaign ground ball total of 30 for the season.
Lindsey Marshall, Patty Kelly, Natalie Starvaggi and Paige Stratton are the 2009 captains. The group of leaders provide solid experience for the 2009 squad that includes 15 newcomers.
Cincinnati's game against Detroit on April 29 has been moved to April 27. The Bearcats will play Detroit on April 27 at 7 p.m. at Indian Hills High School in Cincinnati.