TicketsMarch 11, 2011
CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati attacker Laura Simanski scored the game-winning goal with 9:21 left, and then added an insurance score with under a minute on the clock to help lead the UC lacrosse team to a 14-12 win over visiting Detroit, Friday at Nippert Stadium.
Cincinnati (2-4), snapped a three-game losing streak and netted its best offensive performance of the season while handing the Titans (0-3) their third-straight loss.
Katie Liberatore had a career-best six goals, leading all players. Simanski finished with four, extending her nine-game scoring streak which dates back to April 25, 2010. Katie Kiriazoglou had two goals and three assists, Marissa Pierson added a pair of scores, and Maddie Fink had an assist.
Trailing 8-7 at the half, UC scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period with Pierson striking first (29:21), followed by Liberatore (29:07), Simanski (22:46), and another by Liberatore (20:53).
Leading 11-8 with under 20 minutes left, Detroit would add three goals over a seven-minute span to knot things up at 11 apiece with 11:45 remanining.
Simanski's free-position goal with 9:21 left proved to be the game winner. Liberatore added her sixth of the match with 4:55 left to make the tally 13-11 in favor of the Bearcats. The Titans pulled one back with 2:43 remaining after an Emily Boissonneault goal to make it 13-12.
On Detroit's next possession, goalkeeper Katherine Russo made a save on a point-blank shot from Boissonneault, giving UC the possession and leading to Simanski's goal with 49 seconds remaining to make the tally 14-12.
Detroit's Erin Campbell led the visitors with four goals. Boissonneault added three as did Anna Eidem. Corina Mahorn and Lindsey Saunders each added single tallies for the Titans.
UC trailed 8-7 going into the locker room despite a hat trick from Libertore in the first half. The Bearcats drew first blood, scoring four goals in the game's first 12 minutes.
Simanski scored first (26:52), followed by Pierson (25:54), Kiriazoglou on a man advantage (19:53), and Liberatore (18:07). Boissonneault got the Titans on the scoresheet on a free-position shot at the 16:03 mark to make it 4-1.
Liberatore added her second at 13:00 before Eidem scored two for Detroit in under a minute to move the difference to 5-3 with 12:13 left. Kiriazoglou scored again at 8:37 to make it 6-3 Cincinnati ahead of four Detroit goals over a span of 2:23 that gave the Titans their first lead at 7-6 with 5:19 left in the half.
Liberatore knotted things up at seven goals apiece with her third of the half with 2:11 remaining, but a goal by Eidem with one second left in the half gave Detroit the 8-7 advantage.
UC returns to action on March 22 against No. 9 Stanford at 3 p.m. inside Nippert Stadium. Admission is free for all fans. Live stats and video will be available at GoBEARCATS.com.