Cincinnati Goes 4-1 at Midwest Lacrosse Festival, Loses in Semi-finals
The Cincinnati Bearcats spent Friday and Saturday of this Easter weekend in Columbus at the Midwest Lacrosse Festival where they competed in a tournament with many of the top teams from around the region. This is the second year in a row the Bearcats have competed in this tournament and advanced to the final four (MLF Runner-up 08), but with a loss to Ohio State, it will also be the second year in a row where Cincinnati leaves disappointed.
Cincinnati opened the tournament against Slippery Rock (PA), who figured to be one of the better teams in the tournament. After a back and forth start, the Bearcats were able to pull away and finished with a 6-3 victory. Scorers were Jason Keck (3), Danny Macaully (2) and Matt Keller (1). The defense was led in goal by Kyle O’Neal, who limited the Slippery Rock players to just three goals. Cincinnati played well and after gaining a forfeit victory in the next game, the Bearcats were 2-0 and ready to get some sleep for a big Saturday of lacrosse.
The first game on Saturday was against Kent State University who was unable to put much pressure on the Bearcats, as Cincinnati came away with a 12-4 victory. The Defense was led in this game by Goalie Matt Tassos, who combined with the rest of the long poles to limit Kent State to just 4-23 shooting. The Bearcats were led in scoring by Brandon Mowrey, Taylor Brooks and Griff Krehnbrink, who each scored twice, while Anthony Winrod, David Jarmus, Stephen Heffner, Matt Keller, Phil Cowles, Ray Harper, and Bobby Nagle scored the remaining goals for the Bearcats. Cincinnati was able to run five lines of midfielders in this game, getting goals from each one, and because of this they were able to keep everyone fresh as they prepared for the first elimination round of the tournament.
Entering the Tournament as the number three seed, Cincinnati was given a buy for the first round, and would end up facing Ohio Wesleyan in what looked like it would be a very competitive game through the first half as the two teams entered halftime tied at 2-2. Cincinnati regrouped and came out strong in the second half, scoring five unanswered goals en route to a 7-2 victory. Jason Keck Led all scorers with three goals, and the remaining goals were scored by Ray Harper, Taylor Brooks, Rob Magness, and Matt Keller. The defense was led in goal by Kyle O’Neal and saw a great game from defender Paul McKay who helped Cincinnati win a 29-20 ground ball battle on a very choppy field. With the win the Bearcats advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament where they would face Ohio State.
Cincinnati entered the semi-final round against Ohio State having already lost once to them this year and were hoping to even the score, however, it would not be their fate as they came out flat, and never really found their stride losing 6-3. Kyle O’Neal played a good game in goal, while the Cincinnati goals were scored by Griff Krehnbrink and Matt Keller who had two.
With this semi-final loss the Bearcats will begin preparing for the National Qualifiers next weekend on a sour note. Cincinnati played well at times during the tournament, but was unable to maintain a high level of play and found themselves in too many bad situations. The Bearcats will need to play with more consistency if they hope to accomplish their most important goal this season, which always has been and remains; win a national championship.
