TicketsGREENVILLE, N.C. – The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team waited about as long as it could to clinch its spot in the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship with Anna Platou netting a game winner on a feed from Peyton Mottice with 24 seconds left, capping a 14-13 come-from-behind win over East Carolina on the final day of the regular season on Sunday at Johnson Stadium.
With the victory, UC clinched the No. 4 seed in AAC Championship, set to take place in Gainesville, Florida on May 6 and 8, 2021.
Platou took the feed from Mottice, turned and buried it in the net to finish off a rally which started with the Bearcats trailing 13-11 with 6:50 remaining. Cincinnati (7-9, 3-7 AAC) got goals from Kylie Nause (6:26) and Taylor Gysin (5:57) ahead of Platou's last-minute brace. Monica Borzillo won the ensuing draw
The Pirates (4-12, 2-8 AAC) once again battled back from a big deficit as the Bearcats scored the first six goals of the game and held a 6-0 edge with 17:48 remaining. ECU tied things up at 8-8 with 22:49 left in the second half and later score four-straight goals and led 12-10 with 9:14 left and 13-11 with 6:50 to go.
Borzillo finished with four goals, three draw controls and an assist while Gysin tallied three scores. Sam Mlkvy scored twice and picked up four draw controls. Alyssa Adams and Mottice had five draw controls apiece with Adams causing a pair of turnovers while Mottice dished out two assists. Dani Mlkvy had seven ground balls, a game high, and Morgan Dukes forced two turnovers.
UC finished with a 31-23 advantage in shots and a 19-9 lead in draw controls. The Pirates held the edge in ground balls 21-17 but turned it over 18 times compared to 16 for UC.
UP NEXT
No. 4 seeded Cincinnati squares off with No. 1 seeded Florida on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first of two AAC Championship semifinals at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville.
Temple and Vanderbilt will play in the tournament's second semifinal on May 6, 45 minutes after the completion of the Florida-Cincinnati contest. The schools tied for second in The American's regular-season standings and split their series in Nashville this weekend, but Vanderbilt earned the No. 2 seed, while Temple will be the No. 3 seed, based on head-to-head goal differential.
The 2021 Championship will be The American's second postseason tournament in women's lacrosse. Florida won the inaugural tournament in 2019, while the 2020 championship was canceled.
All three games of The American Championship will be available on ESPN+. The most up-to-date information on the tournament will be available on the conference's Championship Central site.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Lacrosse, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Lacrosse (@GoBearcatsLAX) and Head Coach Gina Oliver (@GinaOliverUC) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
With the victory, UC clinched the No. 4 seed in AAC Championship, set to take place in Gainesville, Florida on May 6 and 8, 2021.
Platou took the feed from Mottice, turned and buried it in the net to finish off a rally which started with the Bearcats trailing 13-11 with 6:50 remaining. Cincinnati (7-9, 3-7 AAC) got goals from Kylie Nause (6:26) and Taylor Gysin (5:57) ahead of Platou's last-minute brace. Monica Borzillo won the ensuing draw
The Pirates (4-12, 2-8 AAC) once again battled back from a big deficit as the Bearcats scored the first six goals of the game and held a 6-0 edge with 17:48 remaining. ECU tied things up at 8-8 with 22:49 left in the second half and later score four-straight goals and led 12-10 with 9:14 left and 13-11 with 6:50 to go.
Borzillo finished with four goals, three draw controls and an assist while Gysin tallied three scores. Sam Mlkvy scored twice and picked up four draw controls. Alyssa Adams and Mottice had five draw controls apiece with Adams causing a pair of turnovers while Mottice dished out two assists. Dani Mlkvy had seven ground balls, a game high, and Morgan Dukes forced two turnovers.
UC finished with a 31-23 advantage in shots and a 19-9 lead in draw controls. The Pirates held the edge in ground balls 21-17 but turned it over 18 times compared to 16 for UC.
UP NEXT
No. 4 seeded Cincinnati squares off with No. 1 seeded Florida on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first of two AAC Championship semifinals at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville.
Temple and Vanderbilt will play in the tournament's second semifinal on May 6, 45 minutes after the completion of the Florida-Cincinnati contest. The schools tied for second in The American's regular-season standings and split their series in Nashville this weekend, but Vanderbilt earned the No. 2 seed, while Temple will be the No. 3 seed, based on head-to-head goal differential.
The 2021 Championship will be The American's second postseason tournament in women's lacrosse. Florida won the inaugural tournament in 2019, while the 2020 championship was canceled.
All three games of The American Championship will be available on ESPN+. The most up-to-date information on the tournament will be available on the conference's Championship Central site.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Lacrosse, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow Cincinnati Lacrosse (@GoBearcatsLAX) and Head Coach Gina Oliver (@GinaOliverUC) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.