TicketsCINCINNATI - Alyssa Adams, Monica Borzillo and Kylie Nause each scored hat tricks and Giuliana Durso came up with big saves in goal to lead the University of Cincinnati lacrosse team to a 13-9 victory over Temple in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal Thursday night at the Sheakley Athletic Center in Cincinnati. The Bearcats (12-6), winners in their postseason debut, saw Adams score three times in the first half and once in the second to pace the scoring as UC, the second seed in the inaugural event, knocked the third-seeded Owls (6-11) out of the tournament.
// QUICK NOTES
• Cincinnati improved to 12-6 on the year while Temple finished the season at 6-11
• UC is now 2-5 in the series with the Owls with both wins coming at home this year
• The second-seeded Bearcats advance to Saturday's final at 1 p.m. and will face top-seeded and 18th ranked Florida
• Tonight's game was the first postseason contest in the program's 12-year history
• UC is now 10-1 at home in 2019 and has won 10 in a row after opening the season with a loss to Ohio State
• The 12 overall wins, 10 home wins and 10 in a row at home are all program records
• Tonight marked the eighth time UC has held an opponent to nine or fewer goals, tying a school record for the most in a season
• Adams was named the game's MVP by the American Digital Network after scoring four goals
• Borzillo netted her 25th career hat trick and added one assist for four points, moving up to #2 in the NCAA in points (105)
• Nause, the AAC Freshman of the Year, collected her 10th hat trick of the season, tying for the most in a UC season by a freshman
• Durso came up big in the cage as she recorded eight saves on the game while allowing just nine
• UC broke two more single-season records tonight, including ground balls (524) and free-position goals (46) after recording 33 and four, respectively, in the game
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The game opened with Temple taking a 1-0 lead before Nause tied it. From there, TU scored and UC would respond as Borzillo and Adams each scored to make it 3-3. From there, however, the Bearcats took the upper hand and saw Nause score again for a 4-3 lead before the Owls tied it once more. After that 4-4 tie, however, UC would scored the next five goals as Adams would score the final three with Sam Mlkvy and Borzillo scoring as well. The Owls added one more before halftime for a 9-5 UC advantage.
In the second half, TU cut it to a four-goal advantage with the opening goal of the half, but UC started to pull away as it scored the next three in a row with Gianna Napoletano, Borzillo and Amanda Donovan each scoring to make it 12-6. From there, the Owls would score three times with Nause adding her third to make it 13-9 in the end.
// GOING FOR GOLD
The Bearcats will now play for their first conference crown after winning their first postseason game in program history. UC had never reached a conference tournament before this year and now have a change to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament as well.
// ALL ABOUT ADAMS
Adams scored her sixth hat trick of the year and the seventh of her career as she netted all four goals in the first half to keep the Bearcats in front. The four goals are the second most she has scored in a game behind only the five she netted against Marquette earlier this year. She also added four draw controls on the day to keep the offense rolling.
// BORZILLO 100
Borzillo notched her 25th career hat trick and 12th of the season while adding one assist to bring her season points total to 105. That point total currently has her ranked second nationally after Kelly Larkin (Navy) added five more tonight to bring her total to 109. Borzillo scored twice on free-position shots and added two ground balls and one caused turnover on the night.
// BOSS NAUSE
The 2019 AAC Freshman of the Year scored three times in the game to collect her 10th hat trick of the year, tying for the most for a rookie in program history with Laura Simanski (2009). Nause scored twice in the first half before adding her third late in the game to bring her season total to 39 goals, tying her with Borzillo (2017) for the second-most goals by a UC freshman.
// DURSO MAKING SAVES
Durso was big for the Bearcats as she recorded eight saves in the game, including seven in the first half, to pick up her 12th win of the year and 20th of her career, both of which are UC records. Durso limited the Owls to nine goals for the second time this year while the defensive pressure applied by Adrianna Fess, Alexandra Fess and Morgan Dukes disrupted the visitors' attack as well.
// NEXT UP
The Bearcats will play for their first conference title Saturday at 1 p.m. as they will face top-seeded and 18th-ranked Florida. The winner of the game earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament next week while the losing team will have to await word from the NCAA to see if it is an at-large selection into the field.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsLAX. Head Coach Gina Thomas (Oliver)(@GinaOliverUC) also can be followed on Twitter.
// QUICK NOTES
• Cincinnati improved to 12-6 on the year while Temple finished the season at 6-11
• UC is now 2-5 in the series with the Owls with both wins coming at home this year
• The second-seeded Bearcats advance to Saturday's final at 1 p.m. and will face top-seeded and 18th ranked Florida
• Tonight's game was the first postseason contest in the program's 12-year history
• UC is now 10-1 at home in 2019 and has won 10 in a row after opening the season with a loss to Ohio State
• The 12 overall wins, 10 home wins and 10 in a row at home are all program records
• Tonight marked the eighth time UC has held an opponent to nine or fewer goals, tying a school record for the most in a season
• Adams was named the game's MVP by the American Digital Network after scoring four goals
• Borzillo netted her 25th career hat trick and added one assist for four points, moving up to #2 in the NCAA in points (105)
• Nause, the AAC Freshman of the Year, collected her 10th hat trick of the season, tying for the most in a UC season by a freshman
• Durso came up big in the cage as she recorded eight saves on the game while allowing just nine
• UC broke two more single-season records tonight, including ground balls (524) and free-position goals (46) after recording 33 and four, respectively, in the game
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The game opened with Temple taking a 1-0 lead before Nause tied it. From there, TU scored and UC would respond as Borzillo and Adams each scored to make it 3-3. From there, however, the Bearcats took the upper hand and saw Nause score again for a 4-3 lead before the Owls tied it once more. After that 4-4 tie, however, UC would scored the next five goals as Adams would score the final three with Sam Mlkvy and Borzillo scoring as well. The Owls added one more before halftime for a 9-5 UC advantage.
In the second half, TU cut it to a four-goal advantage with the opening goal of the half, but UC started to pull away as it scored the next three in a row with Gianna Napoletano, Borzillo and Amanda Donovan each scoring to make it 12-6. From there, the Owls would score three times with Nause adding her third to make it 13-9 in the end.
3️⃣ Bearcats recorded hat tricks, led by Alyssa Adams' four goals, as @GoBearcatsLAX defeated Temple 13-9 in the semifinals to advance to Saturday's inaugural #AmericanWLax Championship title game!
— American Women's Lax (@American_WLax) May 3, 2019
Highlights ⬇ pic.twitter.com/YWoKBLm9ZB
// GOING FOR GOLD
The Bearcats will now play for their first conference crown after winning their first postseason game in program history. UC had never reached a conference tournament before this year and now have a change to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament as well.
// ALL ABOUT ADAMS
Adams scored her sixth hat trick of the year and the seventh of her career as she netted all four goals in the first half to keep the Bearcats in front. The four goals are the second most she has scored in a game behind only the five she netted against Marquette earlier this year. She also added four draw controls on the day to keep the offense rolling.
✅ 🎩🎩🎩
— American Women's Lax (@American_WLax) May 3, 2019
✅ Team-leading four goals on seven shots
We caught up with @GoBearcatsLAX sophomore Alyssa Adams after tonight's win! ⬇ pic.twitter.com/XABiDBAwYw
// BORZILLO 100
Borzillo notched her 25th career hat trick and 12th of the season while adding one assist to bring her season points total to 105. That point total currently has her ranked second nationally after Kelly Larkin (Navy) added five more tonight to bring her total to 109. Borzillo scored twice on free-position shots and added two ground balls and one caused turnover on the night.
// BOSS NAUSE
The 2019 AAC Freshman of the Year scored three times in the game to collect her 10th hat trick of the year, tying for the most for a rookie in program history with Laura Simanski (2009). Nause scored twice in the first half before adding her third late in the game to bring her season total to 39 goals, tying her with Borzillo (2017) for the second-most goals by a UC freshman.
// DURSO MAKING SAVES
Durso was big for the Bearcats as she recorded eight saves in the game, including seven in the first half, to pick up her 12th win of the year and 20th of her career, both of which are UC records. Durso limited the Owls to nine goals for the second time this year while the defensive pressure applied by Adrianna Fess, Alexandra Fess and Morgan Dukes disrupted the visitors' attack as well.
Cincinnati advances to the first ever #AmericanWLax Championship title game behind three players with three or more goals as the Bearcats defeat Temple 13-9.
— American Women's Lax (@American_WLax) May 3, 2019
Hear the first thoughts from @GoBearcatsLAX HC Gina Thomas ⬇ pic.twitter.com/6DVWk76wKC
// NEXT UP
The Bearcats will play for their first conference title Saturday at 1 p.m. as they will face top-seeded and 18th-ranked Florida. The winner of the game earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament next week while the losing team will have to await word from the NCAA to see if it is an at-large selection into the field.
// FOLLOW US
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsLAX. Head Coach Gina Thomas (Oliver)(@GinaOliverUC) also can be followed on Twitter.