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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team held the 20th ranked team to just two goals and nine shots in the second half, but ultimately fell to the University of Louisville 14-8 on Wednesday night in Louisville, Kentucky. Sophomore midfielder Amanda Donovan (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) led the way for the Bearcats, stuffing the stat sheet with three goals, three ground balls, three draw controls and five caused turnovers.
After falling behind 12-4 at the half, UC turned up the pressure in the second period, scoring three goals before Louisville could even gain possession of the ball. In total, the Bearcats recorded more goals (4-2), shots (14-9), free position shots (4-1) and draw controls (5-2) than the Cardinals in the final 30 minutes of the game.
// NOTABLES
- With the loss, Cincinnati falls to 1-3 while Louisville improves to 6-1.
- Donovan recorded her first-career hat trick in the game and set a career mark with five caused turnovers. She also tied her career bests with three ground balls and three draw controls.
- Freshman Monica Borzillo (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) finished with a pair of goals and has scored at least twice in each of the first four games of her collegiate career. Additionally, eight of her nine shots were on goal, forcing six saves from the UofL goalie.
- Freshman McKenna Rushford (Buffalo, N.Y./Amherst Central) dished out her first-career assist, setting up freshman Amanda Fess (Fayetteville, N.Y./Christian Brothers) in the first half.
- Sophomore Sam Mlkvy (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) tied a career high with two assists while also scoring a goal for three points to go along with three draw controls.
- Amanda Fess recorded a career-high two points with a goal and an assist.
- Cincinnati held the 20th-ranked offense scoreless for just under 19 minutes in the second half, spanning from 24:38 to 5:48.
// OLIVER's OPINION
"We are finally gelling as a team and putting together some good minutes of Cincinnati lacrosse" said head coach Gina Oliver. "I am extremely proud of sophomore midfielder Amanda Donovan tonight. She played her heart out and gave us a chance to win that game. We are going to head back to Cincinnati, rest up after a long, tough stretch and start preparing for our next opponent."
// KEY PLAYERS
Cincinnati
Amanda Donovan| 3 goals | 3 ground balls | 3 draw controls | 5 caused turnovers
Sam Mlkvy | 1 goal | 2 assists | 3 draw controls
Monica Borzillo | 2 goals | 1 ground ball
Louisville
Meghan Siverson | 4 goals | 2 ground balls | 7 draw controls
Hannah Koloski | 4 goals | 1 draw control
McKayla Conti | 3 goals | 1 assist
// IN THE CAGE
CIN | Madison Foery | 13 goals against | 3 saves | 43:03 minutes
CIN | Alex MacAffer | 1 goal against | 4 saves | 16:57 minutes
LOU | Brittany Read | 8 goals against | 13 saves | 60:00 minutes
// KEY GOALS
11:46 1st | CIN | Amanda Fess
Amanda Fess' score occurred after the freshman picked up a loose ball, immediately turned and shot on goal. The goal ended a 9-1 Louisville scoring run to open the game and made the score 9-2 in favor of the Cardinals.
0:03 1st | CIN | Amanda Donovan
Donovan scored her second goal of the game as the final seconds ticked away in the first half. Amanda Fess threaded the needle with a sharp pass through to the center of the arc where Donovan was waiting to fire a shot. It brought the halftime score to 12-4 and began a Cincinnati run that would see the Bearcats score four times within five minutes.
25:45 2nd | CIN | Monica Borzillo
Borzillo scored on her first goal of the game on a free position shot to climb UC back to within 12-6. 44 second later, the two-time and reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week tallied again on an unassisted shot to make the score 12-7.
5:48 2nd | LOU | Hannah Koloski
The Cardinals scored the last goal of the game with a little under six minutes remaining, marking just their second goal of the half and their first in a span of 18 minutes and 50 seconds.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will go nine days before the next game when they travel to Detroit on Friday, March 10. The first draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all of the latest information on Cincinnati lacrosse, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up to the minute updates, follow Cincinnati lacrosse (@GoBearcatsLAX) and Coach Oliver (@GinaOliverUC) on twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Facebook and Instagram.