TicketsCINCINNATI - McKenna Rushford netted four goals and Giuliana Durso halted 10 shots, but it was not enough as the University of Cincinnati lacrosse team fell on the road at Temple Saturday afternoon, 9-8, in double overtime. The loss, the second in a row for UC, dropped the Bearcats to 6-3 on the year and 0-2 in the BIG EAST while the Owls moved to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats took the lead first with Rushford scoring at 27:01 in the first half before the score was tied by TU less than four minutes later. UC reclaimed the lead once again as Taylor Gysin scored at 18:02, but, the Owls tied it at 2-2 at 15:54 with their second of the game. The Bearcats would go on to score the next two goals as Rushford cashed in from a free-position shot and Sam Mlkvy added a goal to make 4-2 with 11:25 remaining as Mlkvy's tally came just 13 seconds after Rushford. TU pulled one back to make it 4-3 before Kate Carney scored for a 5-3 lead and Amanda Donovan added a goal with under two minutes remaining for a 6-3 advantage. The game went to halftime at 6-4 with the hosts scoring at 1:07 remaining.
Following the intermission, neither team was able to score for the first 13 minutes of action until the hosts netted back-to-back goals within one minute of each other for a 6-6 score. Rushford struck again at 16:14 for a 7-6 lead, but the Owls scored twice in a 40 second span for their first lead of the day at 8-7 with just over 10 minutes remaining. After some back and forth attempts and forced turnovers, UC tied the game with 4:33 remaining in regulation as Rushford found the back of the cage for the fourth time on the day and the UC defense held to force overtime.
In the first overtime period, both teams had several chances to win the game, but had their attempts turned away by the goalies with Durso stopping a pair of shots. The second overtime came with TU controlling the draw before Maddie Gebert scored under one minute into the second extra session to give the Owls the victory, 9-8.
// PLAYING EXTRA CLOSE
With the loss in overtime, the Bearcats fell to 3-5 all-time in such games and saw a two-game winning streak in overtime contests snapped. That last time UC was involved in an overtime contest was during the 2015 season when the Bearcats pulled out an 11-10 victory over visiting Stetson on March 4. The last time UC played a BIG EAST opponent in an overtime game was also the last double overtime contest the Bearcats have played, falling in Philadelphia at Villanova, 16-15, on April 30, 2010. Overall, the Bearcats are now 9-12 all-time in one-goal games in their 10-plus years of play.
// RUSHING AHEAD
Rushford's four goals moved her to 29 scores on the season, which ranks her tied for the eighth-most goals scored in a single season in program history. Rushford, who also added one assist to finish with five points on the day, has tallied 42 points on the year, which not only places her seventh on the single-season chart, but also makes her just the eighth Bearcats player to record 40 or more points in a single season. She and Monica Borzillo (43 points) are both over that threshold just nine games into the season.
// DURSO STOPS
Durso recorded 10 saves in the contest, marking the sixth time in nine games this year she has recorded double-digit stops. Durso currently has 89 saves on the season (9.89 per game) and ranks 11th all-time in single-season history, needing 10 more saves to crack the program's all-time Top 10.
// NEXT UP
UC returns home next Saturday and will face Georgetown on March 31 at 12:15 p.m. in a BIG EAST contest that will be played inside Nippert Stadium. The game will be part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day across the UC campus.
// EXPERIENCE UC
Once again in 2018, all home games will be part of the Experience UC initiative, which is geared toward inviting the community to campus to see firsthand the great things about and surrounding the university. Experience UC includes complimentary admission for patrons attending women's basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving and track and field home events.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats took the lead first with Rushford scoring at 27:01 in the first half before the score was tied by TU less than four minutes later. UC reclaimed the lead once again as Taylor Gysin scored at 18:02, but, the Owls tied it at 2-2 at 15:54 with their second of the game. The Bearcats would go on to score the next two goals as Rushford cashed in from a free-position shot and Sam Mlkvy added a goal to make 4-2 with 11:25 remaining as Mlkvy's tally came just 13 seconds after Rushford. TU pulled one back to make it 4-3 before Kate Carney scored for a 5-3 lead and Amanda Donovan added a goal with under two minutes remaining for a 6-3 advantage. The game went to halftime at 6-4 with the hosts scoring at 1:07 remaining.
Following the intermission, neither team was able to score for the first 13 minutes of action until the hosts netted back-to-back goals within one minute of each other for a 6-6 score. Rushford struck again at 16:14 for a 7-6 lead, but the Owls scored twice in a 40 second span for their first lead of the day at 8-7 with just over 10 minutes remaining. After some back and forth attempts and forced turnovers, UC tied the game with 4:33 remaining in regulation as Rushford found the back of the cage for the fourth time on the day and the UC defense held to force overtime.
In the first overtime period, both teams had several chances to win the game, but had their attempts turned away by the goalies with Durso stopping a pair of shots. The second overtime came with TU controlling the draw before Maddie Gebert scored under one minute into the second extra session to give the Owls the victory, 9-8.
// PLAYING EXTRA CLOSE
With the loss in overtime, the Bearcats fell to 3-5 all-time in such games and saw a two-game winning streak in overtime contests snapped. That last time UC was involved in an overtime contest was during the 2015 season when the Bearcats pulled out an 11-10 victory over visiting Stetson on March 4. The last time UC played a BIG EAST opponent in an overtime game was also the last double overtime contest the Bearcats have played, falling in Philadelphia at Villanova, 16-15, on April 30, 2010. Overall, the Bearcats are now 9-12 all-time in one-goal games in their 10-plus years of play.
// RUSHING AHEAD
Rushford's four goals moved her to 29 scores on the season, which ranks her tied for the eighth-most goals scored in a single season in program history. Rushford, who also added one assist to finish with five points on the day, has tallied 42 points on the year, which not only places her seventh on the single-season chart, but also makes her just the eighth Bearcats player to record 40 or more points in a single season. She and Monica Borzillo (43 points) are both over that threshold just nine games into the season.
// DURSO STOPS
Durso recorded 10 saves in the contest, marking the sixth time in nine games this year she has recorded double-digit stops. Durso currently has 89 saves on the season (9.89 per game) and ranks 11th all-time in single-season history, needing 10 more saves to crack the program's all-time Top 10.
// NEXT UP
UC returns home next Saturday and will face Georgetown on March 31 at 12:15 p.m. in a BIG EAST contest that will be played inside Nippert Stadium. The game will be part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day across the UC campus.
// EXPERIENCE UC
Once again in 2018, all home games will be part of the Experience UC initiative, which is geared toward inviting the community to campus to see firsthand the great things about and surrounding the university. Experience UC includes complimentary admission for patrons attending women's basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, women's tennis, men's and women's soccer, swimming and diving and track and field home events.