Tickets// THE OPENING DRAW
The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team is set to face #18 Florida Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Sheakley Athletic Center as the two teams will go head-to-head with the winner claiming the 2019 American Athletic Conference Tournament title and a berth into the national tournament. The Bearcats (12-6), seeded second, defeated third-seeded Temple in the semifinal, 13-9, while the Gators (12-6), the top seed, handed fourth-seeded Vanderbilt a 19-10 defeat to reach the final.
// CROWING A QUEEN IN THE QUEEN CITY
Not only will Saturday's game be used to crown the champion of the AAC in its inaugural season, it also will determine the conference's automatic qualifier into next week's NCAA Tournament.
// GET YOUR TICKETS
Tickets will be available the day of the game at the Marge Schott Stadium (baseball) ticket office (directly across from Sheakley Athletic Center's main gate) and will be available starting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and 12 p.m. Saturday, the same time gates to Sheakley Athletic Center will open. Tickets will be $5 for adults, $3 for youths (4-17) and seniors (65+) and $2 for groups (10 or more people). All students from AAC and SEC schools that show their valid student identifications will receive free admission.
// PARKING INFO
Once again, the University of Cincinnati will be holding a graduation ceremony, this time starting at 9 a.m. Because of this, all parking will be free on campus. Fans attending the tournament are encouraged to arrive earlier than normal the ceremony will be letting out prior to the start of the game, causing delays and congestion in traffic in and around campus.
// GOING LIVE
All three games will be streamed live on the American Digital Network. Fans can access the feeds by visiting Facebook.com/AmericanDigitalNetworkPlus. Live stats can be found at AAC.StatBroadcast.com.
// QUICK SHOTS
• Cincinnati is 12-6 on the year following Thursday's win over Temple
• UC made its first postseason appearance in the program's 12-year history and secured its first win as well
• UC has never defeated Florida (0-6), but that was also the case earlier this year in the series with both UConn and Temple (UC defeated the Owls twice)
• The Bearcats broke numerous records this year, including wins (12), home wins (10) and several win streaks, including their current 10-game home winning streak
• With their win over Temple, UC has defeated a conference foe in back-to-back games for the first time
• Against Temple, Alyssa Adams led the way with 4 goals while Monica Borzillo and Kylie Nause each had 3
• Borzillo's hat trick is the 25th of her career and a single-season record 12th this year while Nause posted her 10th hat trick, tying for the most by a freshman in a single season
• The AAC announced its postseason awards with Nause being named the Freshman of the Year
• Gina Thomas, Shannon Witzel and Caitlin Prince earned Coaching Staff of the Year
• Borzillo (unanimous), Nause, Mlkvy and Dukes were all selected AAC First Team All-Conference
• Ahead of the year, UC had just one total first team all-conference selection (Kyara Byner, 2016, Big East)
• Donovan, Adrianna Fess and Durso all earned AAC Second Team All-Conference, giving UC 7 awards
• UC had 6 all-conference awards earned in program history ahead of this season (all in the Big East)
• Borzillo's 105 points this year is currently 2nd among all players in the NCAA (through May 2 games)
• Nause has the most goals (39) and points (43) of any rookie in the AAC
// A WIN SATURDAY WOULD MEAN...
• UC would win its first conference title ever
• UC would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history
• UC would defeat Florida for the first time (0-6)
• UC would defeat a nationally-ranked foe for the first time in program history
• UC would extend its home winning streak to 11
• UC would defeat all members of the conference for the first time in the same season
// AHEAD OF PROJECTIONS
Heading into the inaugural season of the AAC, the coaches vote had the Bearcats picked to finish fifth in the six-team league, missing out on the tournament as only the Top 4 would qualify. Flash forward to now and the Bearcats finished 4-1 in the league play and finished second overall, falling at Florida in the regular season championship game.
// DOUBLED UP
This year, UC went 4-1 in the AAC. Looking back at UC's conference history, the four wins this year double its entire combined conference victories total in its 10 years as a member of the Big East (2009-18).
// SCOUTING: FLORIDA
The Gators are 12-6 after their 19-10 defeat of Vanderbilt in Thursday's semifinal and have won nine games in a row. Lindsey Ronbeck leads the offense for the Gators with 95 points on 79 goals and 16 assists with Shannon Kavanagh chipping in 77 points on 58 goals and 19 assists. In goal, Haley Hicklen holds a 10.67 goals against average and has stopped 163 shots on the year.
// SERIES HISTORY: BEARCATS vs. GATORS
The Gators lead the all-time series, 6-0, after winning the regular season finale last weekend, 25-6, in Gainesville. The two sides have met in Cincinnati twice before with UF taking wins of 20-4 in 2018 and 17-5 in 2016, both in Big East Conference games.
// QUICK RECAP: SEMIFINAL VICTORY
• Alyssa Adams scored four times and both Monica Borzillo and Kylie Nause added three each as the Bearcats downed Temple, 13-9, Thursday night
• The win is the first postseason victory in program for the Bearcats in their debut tournament
• UC defeated Temple for the second game in a row, marking the first time the Bearcats have defeated a conference foe in back-to-back games as well as the same foe in the same season
• The win is UC's 10th in a row at home this year and their 10th home win overall this year, doubling its previous season high for home wins at five
// EARNING DEGREES
Five members of the program graduated this week, including players Maria Collacchi, Giuliana Durso, Sam Mlkvy and Jayde Sains as well as assistant coach Shannon Witzel (Master's).
AMENDED NOTES FOLLOWING TEMPLE GAME
// AWARDS • WEEKLY
The final weekly awards for the conference were announced Tuesday with Borzillo earning a spot on the Honor Roll following her 13 point, eight goal and five assist week on the road. It marked the fourth time this year and third week in a row that Borzillo was named to the Honor Roll and her seventh overall award after also being selected as the attacker of the week thrice.
// FINAL TOTAL
For the season, Borzillo has earned seven weekly awards. She was named the attacker of the week on three occasions and earned a spot on the Honor Roll four times, including each of the last three weeks. Adding in Borzillo's accolade, the Bearcats garnered 21 total awards in 2019 including three attacker of the week (Borzillo three times), two midfielders of the week (Alyssa Adams and Sam Mlkvy), five freshman of the week (Kylie Nause five times), one defensive player of the week (Giuliana Durso), and 10 Honor Roll selections (four for Borzillo, three for Mlkvy, two for Taylor Gysin and one for Alyssa Adams).
// HISTORIC HAUL
The postseason awards for the American were announced Wednesday with the Bearcats earning two major awards and seven all-conference honors. The two major awards mark the first time in program history UC has earned any while the seven all-conference selections more than double the previous all-time total of six earned in the last four years playing in the Big East Conference.
// TOP HONOR: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
One of the first major awards earned this year is AAC Freshman of the Year and that went to Kylie Nause. The top scoring rookie in the league, Nause tallied 39 goals and four assists for 43 points. She has totaled 10 hat tricks on the year, including seven in a row at one point. On the single-season Top 10 ledgers, she currently ranks eighth in goals, third in hat tricks, seventh on shots (86), eighth in shots on goal (66) and tied for third in game-winning goals (2).
// TOP HONOR: COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
The second major award saw the UC coaches earn the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Heading into the year, the Bearcats were picked to finish fifth in the AAC and miss the tournament. However, the team improved its overall win total for the fourth year in a row, doubled is all-time conference wins haul and challenged for the league crown, going 4-1 overall to earn the second seed in the tournament. The Bearcats broke numerous records throughout the year, including overall wins (12), conference wins (4), home wins (10), overall wins in a row (8), home wins in a row (10) and will post the first over .500 winning percentage in program history (currently .675). Added to that, eight different statistical records have been broken, including 254 goals (+54), 103 assists (+17), 357 points (+70), 12 game-winning goals (+4), 256 draw controls (+24), 221 caused turnovers (+34), 524 ground balls (+23) and 46 free-position goals (+1).
// FOUR ON FIRST TEAM
Four Bearcats earned AAC All-Conference First Team honors, including Monica Borzillo, Morgan Dukes, Sam Mlkvy and Nause. Borzillo, the first UC player to earn three awards in a career, earned her first on the first-team as she was also a unanimous selection. Mlkvy is the first midfield player to earn first-team honors at UC while Nause is the first freshman to earn first-team accolade (Borzillo was second team in 2017). Dukes is the second defender to earn a spot on the first team after Kyara Byner (2016).
// THREE ON SECOND TEAM
The Bearcats also had three women appearing on the second team including Amanda Donovan, Giuliana Durso and Adrianna Fess. Donovan is making her second appearance on a second team after earning the distinction in 2017 in the Big East. She also joins Borzillo as the only two Bearcats to earn multiple all-conference selections. Durso and Fess both earned their first accolades with Durso becoming the first UC goalie to receive an honor.
// BORZILLO GOES BIG
For the second time this year, Borzillo tallied 11 points, this time in the 17-10 win at Stetson, to tie the program's single-game record after she did the same against Kent State in the second contest of the season with an identical showing of seven goals and four assists. The seven goals ties for the second-most in a game at UC and her four assists tie for ninth, marking the fourth time she has tallied four helpers in a game in 2019. Following her game with Temple, she now has 60 goals, 45 assists and 105 points and is the first UC player to score 50+ and 60+ goals in a season, the first to tally 40+ assists in a year, and adds to her growing lists of firsts in points as she is the only player that had ever record 60, 70, 80, 90 and now 100 points. Additionally, she scored the game-winner against the Hatters, marking her fourth winner this year, the most in a single season in program history.
// AMONG THE BEST
Through games played Thursday, Borzillo is one of six players to have recorded 100 or more points this year in the nation with Borzillo currently sitting second in the NCAA with 105 while Kelly Larkin of Navy leads the way with 110. Both players are still active in their conference tournament finals as well.
// REWRITING RECORDS
This year, Borzillo has torched the record books at UC as she broke seven single-season and four career records. On the season side of things, she broke the program records for goals (60), hat tricks (12), assists (45), points (105), shots (130), shots on goals (98) and game-winning goals (4). She also broke career records for assists (106), points (247), shots (341) and shots on goals (259). Borzillo also added the AAC record for points in a game with 11 (twice). Heading into the final, Borzillo is currently the single-season record holder in the AAC with 105 points and 45 assists. She is 10 points ahead of Lindsey Ronbeck of Florida (79-16=95) and eight assists ahead of Gabrielle Fornia of Vanderbilt (37).
// TOP OF HER CLASS
Through much of the season, Nause made a name for herself with her scoring prowess and it paid off as she was named the freshman of the year in the AAC. Against Temple, she recorded her 10th hat trick of the season. For the year, she now has 39 goals and four assists for 43 points, which places her at the top of the leader board among all AAC freshman for goals scored and points tallied.
// "BEARCATS GOAL!"
That phrase, "Bearcats Goal!" has been said many times this year - 254 times in fact - as UC has found the back of the cage at its best clip in program history. Including the 17 goals scored against Stetson, the Bearcats have scored 17 or more goals seven times this year with UC tallying 18 or more in five games. For a little perspective, the program scored 17+ 15 times in the previous 11 years, 18+ seven times and 19+ five times with this year's team scoring those totals six, five and four times, respectively. This year, UC also tied the single-game scoring record twice with 22 goals against both Marquette and Gardner-Webb. Prior to those to games, UC had scored 22 goals once and 20 or more goals in a game five times.
// NOT GETTING GOALS
While the Bearcats have been scoring well this year, their opponents have been limited as the Bearcats have allowed nine or fewer goals to be scored a record-tying eight times. With eight such games this year, the 2019 squad is now tied with the 2016 team for the record. Additionally, the five goals UC allowed to ECU were the fewest allowed this year and the lowest total in the past two years after winning 21-3 over Butler April 1, 2017. In fact, the five goals allowed is tied for the eighth-lowest in a game for UC with four games of allowing three, three games of allowing four and six other games allowing five in program history.
// DOUBLE DIGITS
The Bearcats are 12-6 on the year, marking the first time they have reached double digits in victories in a season. Each of the last three conference wins of the season were records for UC as the win at ECU tied the single-season record for wins in a year (8) with the 2018 team; the win over Temple broke the record for wins in a year (9); and the win over Vanderbilt put UC into double figures for the first time ever (10).
// LOCKED IN
Sitting at 12-6 (.675), the Bearcats have locked up a winning record (.500 or better) for the first time in program history. The previous best came last year when the team went 8-9 to post a .471 winning percentage.
// STREAKING • HOME
With the win over Temple Thursday night, the Bearcats have now won 10 in a row at home following a season-opening loss to Ohio State. Those 10 wins in a row at home stand as the longest streak in a single season in UC history and also takes over the longest home winning streak in program history that stood at eight after the 2013 team won its final five and the 2014 squad won its first three.
// HOME SWEET HOME
With a 10-1 home record, UC has easily smashed its previous record for home wins in a season as three teams held the record with five, including last year's squad. In fact, the Bearcats' defeat of Vanderbilt gave UC nine wins at home, which, at the time, equaled the amount of victories it had accumulated in the previous two years combined after going 4-3 in 2017 and 5-5 last year.
// STREAK OVER
While the home streak is still in tact, the team's overall win streak was halted last week in a loss at Florida. Prior to the setback, the Bearcats had won eight in a row, the longest streak in program history, surpassing the six-consecutive wins earned last year.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MLKVY DRAWING PRAISE
Last week's AAC Midfielder of the Week, Mlkvy had another impressive showing as she recorded four points on three goals and one assist while adding 10 draw controls and two caused turnovers against Vanderbilt (she had 2 goals and 3 draw controls at Stetson). Her work in draw controls not only gave her 84 for the season (bettering her own school record), but the 11 she tallied against VU also tied for the fourth-most in a single game in UC history, adding her name to the Top 4 list for the second time this year after collecting 11 in the season opener with Ohio State. With her numbers against VU, Mlkvy reached a pair of century marks for her career as she now has 100 career points (76-24) and 101 career ground balls.
// BACK-TO-BACK
With the win over Vanderbilt, the Bearcats not only remained undefeated in league action, but also recorded their first back-to-back home wins over a conference opponent in program history. The last time the Bearcats and Commodores played in Cincinnati was at the end of the 2017 season as members of the Big East with UC taking a 10-9 win on a last-second goal. UC defeated ECU for the second year a row earlier this year, but last year's tilt was not a conference game as the Pirates were independents in their first varsity season.
// ANOTHER FIRST WIN
With the win over Temple, the Bearcats have recorded three first wins in a series this year. First, UC evened its all-time record with San Diego State at 1-1 before downing UConn for the first time in 11 meetings (1-10). Last weekend, UC moved to 1-6 against the Owls with the 12-9 victory. A win Saturday at Florida would be the first in program history over the Gators.
// CENTURY CLUB
Borzillo reaching 100 career assists was not the only milestone met over the weekend against Vanderbilt as several more Bearcats hit 100 in various categories for their careers. Both Amanda Donovan (102) and Sam Mlkvy (100) have now accumulated 100 or more points in their careers; Borzillo (102), Mlkvy (101) and Morgan Dukes (100) all have hit the century mark in ground balls; and Donovan met the mark in draw controls (100).
// DOWN GO MORE RECORDS
Following the win over Vanderbilt, the statistics accumulated by the Bearcats as a team broke seven season records, including the three main offensive categories. UC has scored 218 goals (201), tallied 91 assists (86), recorded 299 points (287), fired 508 shots (504), taken 372 shots on goal (371), scored 10 game-winning goals (nine) and caused 194 turnovers (187). All seven of those records were previously set last year.
// BICENTENNI-GOAL
Borzillo scored four times last week with her first goal tying the score at 5-5 in the first half. That goal not only helped UC come back from an early 4-0 deficit to Temple, it also became the 1,819th goal scored in program history or, as we are calling it, the 'bicentenni-goal'. This year, the University is celebrating its bicentennial after being founded in 1819 and the Bearcats helped celebrate that by scoring their 1,819th goal this season.
// HISTORIC GAME
Previously, the Bearcats scored a 22-18 victory over visiting Marquette, leading to several historical statistics in the process including the most points recorded in a single game with 34 (was 32), tying for the most goals scored in a game with 22 and seeing the most combined goals scored in a game with 40 (was 36). On top of that, the team recorded 12 assists to posted the third-highest single game total (record is 13) as well. Individually, several players recorded career highs in various categories with a trio of sophomores (Adams, Carney and Gysin) collecting several all-time Top 10 marks as well.
// BACK-TO-BACK SCORING
Near the end of March, the Bearcats scored 17 against San Diego State and 22 against Gardner-Webb, totaling a combined 39 goals for the back-to-back contests. That total is the second-highest back-to-back scoring output in program history behind only the 41 scored earlier this year in wins over Kent State (19) and Marquette (22). Additionally, the 39 goals scored mark just the fifth time in program history the Bearcats have scored 30+ in back-to-back games and the fourth time in the last three years. The first time it happened was in 2012 before UC making it happen once each in 2017 and 2018 before the two occurrences this season.
// GAME RECORDS
On a single game level, Borzillo posted four and Sam Mlkvy two marks that landed on the all-time Top 10 as well in the opening weekend. Borzillo's 11 points are the most in a single game, surpassing the 10 she recorded twice previously. Her seven goals tied for second and is one off her own record while her four assists tied her for eighth with all of those coming in the game against KSU. She also added five caused turnovers against the Golden Flashes, tying for the fifth spot all time. Mlkvy's 11 draw controls against Ohio State ranks second all-time in a single game while her 10 shots against KSU tied for the 10th.
// FEELING HONORED
Ahead of the season, the league coaches also voted for individual honors with three Bearcats being selected to the 2019 Preseason AAC All-Conference Team. That trio includes Monica Borzillo, who was unanimously selected to the list, Amanda Donovan and Sam Mlkvy. The honors are the first preseason awards in each players career with Borzillo (twice) and Donovan (once) previously being selected as BIG EAST All-Conference Second Team with Borzillo's honors coming in 2017 and 2018 and Donovan being selected in 2017.
// FIRST TIME AWARDS
Not only were the selections for those three players the first preseason awards of their careers, they also marked the first preseason awards earned by any Bearcats player in program history. Previously, no UC player had been named to a preseason list in the BIG EAST with Borzillo and Donovan standing as two of just five players to earn postseason accolades.
// CROWNING A CHAMP IN THE QUEEN CITY
The 2019 American Athletic Conference Lacrosse Tournament will be coming to Cincinnati in May with three games being played at the Sheakley Athletics Center on the UC campus. The Top 4 teams in the final regular season standings will play for the postseason crown and a spot in the NCAA Tournament with the AAC semifinals taking place Thursday, May 2, and the final Saturday, May 4. The semifinal games will be played at 4:30 p.m. and 45 minutes after the first game concludes with the final taking place Saturday at 1 p.m.
// PLAYING HOST
While the Bearcats will playing host to their first lacrosse conference tournament in 2019, the University of Cincinnati is no stranger to welcoming the American to town for a conference event as this year's event will mark the third-consecutive academic year UC has held an AAC championship event. It began in the 2016-17 academic year with the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships being contested at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. One academic year later, Gettler Stadium served as the site of the 2018 AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
// MAKING THE GRADE
Following the fall semester, the grades were tabulated and the Bearcats recorded a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.466 as 23 of the players posted at least a 3.0 GPA. To top that off, 15 players held GPAs of 3.4 or better in the semester to be named to the Dean's List while five of those players - Alyssa Adams, Monica Borzillo, Kate Brocato, Maria Collacchi and Alexandra Fess - each were named TopCats as they all posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.
// 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 (@GinaOliverUC) also can be followed on Twitter.
// NEXT TIME
If the Bearcats win Saturday, they will automatically earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament while a loss will have them awaiting word from the NCAA to see if they receive and at-large berth. The NCAA Selection Show will air online at NCAA.com Sunday at 8 p.m.
The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team is set to face #18 Florida Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Sheakley Athletic Center as the two teams will go head-to-head with the winner claiming the 2019 American Athletic Conference Tournament title and a berth into the national tournament. The Bearcats (12-6), seeded second, defeated third-seeded Temple in the semifinal, 13-9, while the Gators (12-6), the top seed, handed fourth-seeded Vanderbilt a 19-10 defeat to reach the final.
// CROWING A QUEEN IN THE QUEEN CITY
Not only will Saturday's game be used to crown the champion of the AAC in its inaugural season, it also will determine the conference's automatic qualifier into next week's NCAA Tournament.
// GET YOUR TICKETS
Tickets will be available the day of the game at the Marge Schott Stadium (baseball) ticket office (directly across from Sheakley Athletic Center's main gate) and will be available starting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and 12 p.m. Saturday, the same time gates to Sheakley Athletic Center will open. Tickets will be $5 for adults, $3 for youths (4-17) and seniors (65+) and $2 for groups (10 or more people). All students from AAC and SEC schools that show their valid student identifications will receive free admission.
// PARKING INFO
Once again, the University of Cincinnati will be holding a graduation ceremony, this time starting at 9 a.m. Because of this, all parking will be free on campus. Fans attending the tournament are encouraged to arrive earlier than normal the ceremony will be letting out prior to the start of the game, causing delays and congestion in traffic in and around campus.
// GOING LIVE
All three games will be streamed live on the American Digital Network. Fans can access the feeds by visiting Facebook.com/AmericanDigitalNetworkPlus. Live stats can be found at AAC.StatBroadcast.com.
// QUICK SHOTS
• Cincinnati is 12-6 on the year following Thursday's win over Temple
• UC made its first postseason appearance in the program's 12-year history and secured its first win as well
• UC has never defeated Florida (0-6), but that was also the case earlier this year in the series with both UConn and Temple (UC defeated the Owls twice)
• The Bearcats broke numerous records this year, including wins (12), home wins (10) and several win streaks, including their current 10-game home winning streak
• With their win over Temple, UC has defeated a conference foe in back-to-back games for the first time
• Against Temple, Alyssa Adams led the way with 4 goals while Monica Borzillo and Kylie Nause each had 3
• Borzillo's hat trick is the 25th of her career and a single-season record 12th this year while Nause posted her 10th hat trick, tying for the most by a freshman in a single season
• The AAC announced its postseason awards with Nause being named the Freshman of the Year
• Gina Thomas, Shannon Witzel and Caitlin Prince earned Coaching Staff of the Year
• Borzillo (unanimous), Nause, Mlkvy and Dukes were all selected AAC First Team All-Conference
• Ahead of the year, UC had just one total first team all-conference selection (Kyara Byner, 2016, Big East)
• Donovan, Adrianna Fess and Durso all earned AAC Second Team All-Conference, giving UC 7 awards
• UC had 6 all-conference awards earned in program history ahead of this season (all in the Big East)
• Borzillo's 105 points this year is currently 2nd among all players in the NCAA (through May 2 games)
• Nause has the most goals (39) and points (43) of any rookie in the AAC
// A WIN SATURDAY WOULD MEAN...
• UC would win its first conference title ever
• UC would advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history
• UC would defeat Florida for the first time (0-6)
• UC would defeat a nationally-ranked foe for the first time in program history
• UC would extend its home winning streak to 11
• UC would defeat all members of the conference for the first time in the same season
// AHEAD OF PROJECTIONS
Heading into the inaugural season of the AAC, the coaches vote had the Bearcats picked to finish fifth in the six-team league, missing out on the tournament as only the Top 4 would qualify. Flash forward to now and the Bearcats finished 4-1 in the league play and finished second overall, falling at Florida in the regular season championship game.
// DOUBLED UP
This year, UC went 4-1 in the AAC. Looking back at UC's conference history, the four wins this year double its entire combined conference victories total in its 10 years as a member of the Big East (2009-18).
// SCOUTING: FLORIDA
The Gators are 12-6 after their 19-10 defeat of Vanderbilt in Thursday's semifinal and have won nine games in a row. Lindsey Ronbeck leads the offense for the Gators with 95 points on 79 goals and 16 assists with Shannon Kavanagh chipping in 77 points on 58 goals and 19 assists. In goal, Haley Hicklen holds a 10.67 goals against average and has stopped 163 shots on the year.
// SERIES HISTORY: BEARCATS vs. GATORS
The Gators lead the all-time series, 6-0, after winning the regular season finale last weekend, 25-6, in Gainesville. The two sides have met in Cincinnati twice before with UF taking wins of 20-4 in 2018 and 17-5 in 2016, both in Big East Conference games.
// QUICK RECAP: SEMIFINAL VICTORY
• Alyssa Adams scored four times and both Monica Borzillo and Kylie Nause added three each as the Bearcats downed Temple, 13-9, Thursday night
• The win is the first postseason victory in program for the Bearcats in their debut tournament
• UC defeated Temple for the second game in a row, marking the first time the Bearcats have defeated a conference foe in back-to-back games as well as the same foe in the same season
• The win is UC's 10th in a row at home this year and their 10th home win overall this year, doubling its previous season high for home wins at five
// EARNING DEGREES
Five members of the program graduated this week, including players Maria Collacchi, Giuliana Durso, Sam Mlkvy and Jayde Sains as well as assistant coach Shannon Witzel (Master's).
AMENDED NOTES FOLLOWING TEMPLE GAME
// AWARDS • WEEKLY
The final weekly awards for the conference were announced Tuesday with Borzillo earning a spot on the Honor Roll following her 13 point, eight goal and five assist week on the road. It marked the fourth time this year and third week in a row that Borzillo was named to the Honor Roll and her seventh overall award after also being selected as the attacker of the week thrice.
// FINAL TOTAL
For the season, Borzillo has earned seven weekly awards. She was named the attacker of the week on three occasions and earned a spot on the Honor Roll four times, including each of the last three weeks. Adding in Borzillo's accolade, the Bearcats garnered 21 total awards in 2019 including three attacker of the week (Borzillo three times), two midfielders of the week (Alyssa Adams and Sam Mlkvy), five freshman of the week (Kylie Nause five times), one defensive player of the week (Giuliana Durso), and 10 Honor Roll selections (four for Borzillo, three for Mlkvy, two for Taylor Gysin and one for Alyssa Adams).
// HISTORIC HAUL
The postseason awards for the American were announced Wednesday with the Bearcats earning two major awards and seven all-conference honors. The two major awards mark the first time in program history UC has earned any while the seven all-conference selections more than double the previous all-time total of six earned in the last four years playing in the Big East Conference.
// TOP HONOR: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
One of the first major awards earned this year is AAC Freshman of the Year and that went to Kylie Nause. The top scoring rookie in the league, Nause tallied 39 goals and four assists for 43 points. She has totaled 10 hat tricks on the year, including seven in a row at one point. On the single-season Top 10 ledgers, she currently ranks eighth in goals, third in hat tricks, seventh on shots (86), eighth in shots on goal (66) and tied for third in game-winning goals (2).
// TOP HONOR: COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
The second major award saw the UC coaches earn the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Heading into the year, the Bearcats were picked to finish fifth in the AAC and miss the tournament. However, the team improved its overall win total for the fourth year in a row, doubled is all-time conference wins haul and challenged for the league crown, going 4-1 overall to earn the second seed in the tournament. The Bearcats broke numerous records throughout the year, including overall wins (12), conference wins (4), home wins (10), overall wins in a row (8), home wins in a row (10) and will post the first over .500 winning percentage in program history (currently .675). Added to that, eight different statistical records have been broken, including 254 goals (+54), 103 assists (+17), 357 points (+70), 12 game-winning goals (+4), 256 draw controls (+24), 221 caused turnovers (+34), 524 ground balls (+23) and 46 free-position goals (+1).
// FOUR ON FIRST TEAM
Four Bearcats earned AAC All-Conference First Team honors, including Monica Borzillo, Morgan Dukes, Sam Mlkvy and Nause. Borzillo, the first UC player to earn three awards in a career, earned her first on the first-team as she was also a unanimous selection. Mlkvy is the first midfield player to earn first-team honors at UC while Nause is the first freshman to earn first-team accolade (Borzillo was second team in 2017). Dukes is the second defender to earn a spot on the first team after Kyara Byner (2016).
// THREE ON SECOND TEAM
The Bearcats also had three women appearing on the second team including Amanda Donovan, Giuliana Durso and Adrianna Fess. Donovan is making her second appearance on a second team after earning the distinction in 2017 in the Big East. She also joins Borzillo as the only two Bearcats to earn multiple all-conference selections. Durso and Fess both earned their first accolades with Durso becoming the first UC goalie to receive an honor.
// BORZILLO GOES BIG
For the second time this year, Borzillo tallied 11 points, this time in the 17-10 win at Stetson, to tie the program's single-game record after she did the same against Kent State in the second contest of the season with an identical showing of seven goals and four assists. The seven goals ties for the second-most in a game at UC and her four assists tie for ninth, marking the fourth time she has tallied four helpers in a game in 2019. Following her game with Temple, she now has 60 goals, 45 assists and 105 points and is the first UC player to score 50+ and 60+ goals in a season, the first to tally 40+ assists in a year, and adds to her growing lists of firsts in points as she is the only player that had ever record 60, 70, 80, 90 and now 100 points. Additionally, she scored the game-winner against the Hatters, marking her fourth winner this year, the most in a single season in program history.
// AMONG THE BEST
Through games played Thursday, Borzillo is one of six players to have recorded 100 or more points this year in the nation with Borzillo currently sitting second in the NCAA with 105 while Kelly Larkin of Navy leads the way with 110. Both players are still active in their conference tournament finals as well.
// REWRITING RECORDS
This year, Borzillo has torched the record books at UC as she broke seven single-season and four career records. On the season side of things, she broke the program records for goals (60), hat tricks (12), assists (45), points (105), shots (130), shots on goals (98) and game-winning goals (4). She also broke career records for assists (106), points (247), shots (341) and shots on goals (259). Borzillo also added the AAC record for points in a game with 11 (twice). Heading into the final, Borzillo is currently the single-season record holder in the AAC with 105 points and 45 assists. She is 10 points ahead of Lindsey Ronbeck of Florida (79-16=95) and eight assists ahead of Gabrielle Fornia of Vanderbilt (37).
// TOP OF HER CLASS
Through much of the season, Nause made a name for herself with her scoring prowess and it paid off as she was named the freshman of the year in the AAC. Against Temple, she recorded her 10th hat trick of the season. For the year, she now has 39 goals and four assists for 43 points, which places her at the top of the leader board among all AAC freshman for goals scored and points tallied.
// "BEARCATS GOAL!"
That phrase, "Bearcats Goal!" has been said many times this year - 254 times in fact - as UC has found the back of the cage at its best clip in program history. Including the 17 goals scored against Stetson, the Bearcats have scored 17 or more goals seven times this year with UC tallying 18 or more in five games. For a little perspective, the program scored 17+ 15 times in the previous 11 years, 18+ seven times and 19+ five times with this year's team scoring those totals six, five and four times, respectively. This year, UC also tied the single-game scoring record twice with 22 goals against both Marquette and Gardner-Webb. Prior to those to games, UC had scored 22 goals once and 20 or more goals in a game five times.
// NOT GETTING GOALS
While the Bearcats have been scoring well this year, their opponents have been limited as the Bearcats have allowed nine or fewer goals to be scored a record-tying eight times. With eight such games this year, the 2019 squad is now tied with the 2016 team for the record. Additionally, the five goals UC allowed to ECU were the fewest allowed this year and the lowest total in the past two years after winning 21-3 over Butler April 1, 2017. In fact, the five goals allowed is tied for the eighth-lowest in a game for UC with four games of allowing three, three games of allowing four and six other games allowing five in program history.
// DOUBLE DIGITS
The Bearcats are 12-6 on the year, marking the first time they have reached double digits in victories in a season. Each of the last three conference wins of the season were records for UC as the win at ECU tied the single-season record for wins in a year (8) with the 2018 team; the win over Temple broke the record for wins in a year (9); and the win over Vanderbilt put UC into double figures for the first time ever (10).
// LOCKED IN
Sitting at 12-6 (.675), the Bearcats have locked up a winning record (.500 or better) for the first time in program history. The previous best came last year when the team went 8-9 to post a .471 winning percentage.
// STREAKING • HOME
With the win over Temple Thursday night, the Bearcats have now won 10 in a row at home following a season-opening loss to Ohio State. Those 10 wins in a row at home stand as the longest streak in a single season in UC history and also takes over the longest home winning streak in program history that stood at eight after the 2013 team won its final five and the 2014 squad won its first three.
// HOME SWEET HOME
With a 10-1 home record, UC has easily smashed its previous record for home wins in a season as three teams held the record with five, including last year's squad. In fact, the Bearcats' defeat of Vanderbilt gave UC nine wins at home, which, at the time, equaled the amount of victories it had accumulated in the previous two years combined after going 4-3 in 2017 and 5-5 last year.
// STREAK OVER
While the home streak is still in tact, the team's overall win streak was halted last week in a loss at Florida. Prior to the setback, the Bearcats had won eight in a row, the longest streak in program history, surpassing the six-consecutive wins earned last year.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MLKVY DRAWING PRAISE
Last week's AAC Midfielder of the Week, Mlkvy had another impressive showing as she recorded four points on three goals and one assist while adding 10 draw controls and two caused turnovers against Vanderbilt (she had 2 goals and 3 draw controls at Stetson). Her work in draw controls not only gave her 84 for the season (bettering her own school record), but the 11 she tallied against VU also tied for the fourth-most in a single game in UC history, adding her name to the Top 4 list for the second time this year after collecting 11 in the season opener with Ohio State. With her numbers against VU, Mlkvy reached a pair of century marks for her career as she now has 100 career points (76-24) and 101 career ground balls.
// BACK-TO-BACK
With the win over Vanderbilt, the Bearcats not only remained undefeated in league action, but also recorded their first back-to-back home wins over a conference opponent in program history. The last time the Bearcats and Commodores played in Cincinnati was at the end of the 2017 season as members of the Big East with UC taking a 10-9 win on a last-second goal. UC defeated ECU for the second year a row earlier this year, but last year's tilt was not a conference game as the Pirates were independents in their first varsity season.
// ANOTHER FIRST WIN
With the win over Temple, the Bearcats have recorded three first wins in a series this year. First, UC evened its all-time record with San Diego State at 1-1 before downing UConn for the first time in 11 meetings (1-10). Last weekend, UC moved to 1-6 against the Owls with the 12-9 victory. A win Saturday at Florida would be the first in program history over the Gators.
// CENTURY CLUB
Borzillo reaching 100 career assists was not the only milestone met over the weekend against Vanderbilt as several more Bearcats hit 100 in various categories for their careers. Both Amanda Donovan (102) and Sam Mlkvy (100) have now accumulated 100 or more points in their careers; Borzillo (102), Mlkvy (101) and Morgan Dukes (100) all have hit the century mark in ground balls; and Donovan met the mark in draw controls (100).
// DOWN GO MORE RECORDS
Following the win over Vanderbilt, the statistics accumulated by the Bearcats as a team broke seven season records, including the three main offensive categories. UC has scored 218 goals (201), tallied 91 assists (86), recorded 299 points (287), fired 508 shots (504), taken 372 shots on goal (371), scored 10 game-winning goals (nine) and caused 194 turnovers (187). All seven of those records were previously set last year.
// BICENTENNI-GOAL
Borzillo scored four times last week with her first goal tying the score at 5-5 in the first half. That goal not only helped UC come back from an early 4-0 deficit to Temple, it also became the 1,819th goal scored in program history or, as we are calling it, the 'bicentenni-goal'. This year, the University is celebrating its bicentennial after being founded in 1819 and the Bearcats helped celebrate that by scoring their 1,819th goal this season.
// HISTORIC GAME
Previously, the Bearcats scored a 22-18 victory over visiting Marquette, leading to several historical statistics in the process including the most points recorded in a single game with 34 (was 32), tying for the most goals scored in a game with 22 and seeing the most combined goals scored in a game with 40 (was 36). On top of that, the team recorded 12 assists to posted the third-highest single game total (record is 13) as well. Individually, several players recorded career highs in various categories with a trio of sophomores (Adams, Carney and Gysin) collecting several all-time Top 10 marks as well.
// BACK-TO-BACK SCORING
Near the end of March, the Bearcats scored 17 against San Diego State and 22 against Gardner-Webb, totaling a combined 39 goals for the back-to-back contests. That total is the second-highest back-to-back scoring output in program history behind only the 41 scored earlier this year in wins over Kent State (19) and Marquette (22). Additionally, the 39 goals scored mark just the fifth time in program history the Bearcats have scored 30+ in back-to-back games and the fourth time in the last three years. The first time it happened was in 2012 before UC making it happen once each in 2017 and 2018 before the two occurrences this season.
// GAME RECORDS
On a single game level, Borzillo posted four and Sam Mlkvy two marks that landed on the all-time Top 10 as well in the opening weekend. Borzillo's 11 points are the most in a single game, surpassing the 10 she recorded twice previously. Her seven goals tied for second and is one off her own record while her four assists tied her for eighth with all of those coming in the game against KSU. She also added five caused turnovers against the Golden Flashes, tying for the fifth spot all time. Mlkvy's 11 draw controls against Ohio State ranks second all-time in a single game while her 10 shots against KSU tied for the 10th.
// FEELING HONORED
Ahead of the season, the league coaches also voted for individual honors with three Bearcats being selected to the 2019 Preseason AAC All-Conference Team. That trio includes Monica Borzillo, who was unanimously selected to the list, Amanda Donovan and Sam Mlkvy. The honors are the first preseason awards in each players career with Borzillo (twice) and Donovan (once) previously being selected as BIG EAST All-Conference Second Team with Borzillo's honors coming in 2017 and 2018 and Donovan being selected in 2017.
// FIRST TIME AWARDS
Not only were the selections for those three players the first preseason awards of their careers, they also marked the first preseason awards earned by any Bearcats player in program history. Previously, no UC player had been named to a preseason list in the BIG EAST with Borzillo and Donovan standing as two of just five players to earn postseason accolades.
// CROWNING A CHAMP IN THE QUEEN CITY
The 2019 American Athletic Conference Lacrosse Tournament will be coming to Cincinnati in May with three games being played at the Sheakley Athletics Center on the UC campus. The Top 4 teams in the final regular season standings will play for the postseason crown and a spot in the NCAA Tournament with the AAC semifinals taking place Thursday, May 2, and the final Saturday, May 4. The semifinal games will be played at 4:30 p.m. and 45 minutes after the first game concludes with the final taking place Saturday at 1 p.m.
// PLAYING HOST
While the Bearcats will playing host to their first lacrosse conference tournament in 2019, the University of Cincinnati is no stranger to welcoming the American to town for a conference event as this year's event will mark the third-consecutive academic year UC has held an AAC championship event. It began in the 2016-17 academic year with the 2016 AAC Cross Country Championships being contested at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. One academic year later, Gettler Stadium served as the site of the 2018 AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
// MAKING THE GRADE
Following the fall semester, the grades were tabulated and the Bearcats recorded a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.466 as 23 of the players posted at least a 3.0 GPA. To top that off, 15 players held GPAs of 3.4 or better in the semester to be named to the Dean's List while five of those players - Alyssa Adams, Monica Borzillo, Kate Brocato, Maria Collacchi and Alexandra Fess - each were named TopCats as they all posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.
// 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 (@GinaOliverUC) also can be followed on Twitter.
// NEXT TIME
If the Bearcats win Saturday, they will automatically earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament while a loss will have them awaiting word from the NCAA to see if they receive and at-large berth. The NCAA Selection Show will air online at NCAA.com Sunday at 8 p.m.