Season Ends In Final Four
The 2009/10 lacrosse season was one of the best seasons in Cincinnati’s history and was a year filled with accomplishments and firsts. It started in the fall with the Bearcats beating Miami in the Capitol Tournament Championship to bring home the inaugural trophy in that tournament. Cincinnati continued its winning ways in the Midwest Lacrosse Festival where they brought home their first ever championship in that tournament after placing second and third in the previous seasons. During the MLF the Bearcats were also able to knock off rivals Ohio U. and Ohio State on their way to the trophy. By the end of the year Cincinnati had won its third consecutive Midwest Regional Championship, and was advancing to the NCLL Elite Eight for the second time in the last three seasons. There was one thing Cincinnati was not able to cross off its list though, a National Championship as they lost in the Final Four to Lynchburg University in a high scoring back and forth game.
In Cincinnati’s first game they lined up against a talented St. Mary’s team that looked ready to give the Bearcats all they bargained for. Cincinnati started off strong taking a 9-3 lead into the half and controlling the ball possession. The second half was a much different story as UC was outscored 6-2 and was looking out of sync. However, the Bearcats pulled themselves together at the end of the game and were able to hang on to an 11-9 win moving them onto the Final Four.
Cincinnati was led in this game by Zach Fehr who tallied four goals, as well as attackmen Bobby Nagle and Danny Macauley who each scored two goals. other scorers were Ray Harper and and Alex Arkeilpane.
The Final Four match up featured a high powered Lynchburg team that has made multiple championship appearances recently and was a favorite coming into the tournament again this year. Cincinnati started the game off well taking a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the momentum would not last as the second quarter scoring was 6-2 in Lynchburgs favor with the halftime score reading 8-7, Bearcats. The third quarter remained close as each team notched four more goals and went into the final quarter with Cincinnati leading 12-11. The fourth quarter saw it slip away from the Bearcats as they were losing the ground ball battle and as a result the possession battle as well. Lynchburg was able to rack up five more goals in the quarter while UC managed only three and with five seconds left and the ball at midfield after a penalty UC had one last chance to try to even the score, but the pass was batted down and the game, as well as the Bearcats season ended.
UC was led in scoring by returning attackman Jason Keck, who in just his second game back with the team since injuring his hip racked up four goals and an assist in limited playing time. In his final game with the Bearcats, senior Bobby Nagle scored three times while the other two attackmen Danny Macauley and Joe Werner both scored twice, with Werner adding two assists. Other scorers were Zach Fehr, Phil Cowles, Matt Keller and Alex Arkeilpane.
With the season ending one game earlier then the Bearcats would have liked the team will be working hard in the off-season to improve and reload for next season. With a returning core of players, as well as a highly anticipated incoming class Cincinnati looks to be on track for another tournament run next year.
The Bearcats would like to thank everyone who has supported and followed us and helped make this such an incredible year, we could not do it without the help of our fans!
