D II Midwest Regional Champions!

April 15th, 2008 | Written by: Kevin Bissmeyer | Posted in Uncategorized |

The University of Cincinnati lacrosse team participated in the Xavier mini-tournament in which they continued to show that they are one of the premier lacrosse teams in the Midwest region. In three games the bearcats managed to outscore their opponents 57-6 and racked up three big wins the weekend before heading into the national tournament.

In the Bearcats first game against Marshall on a muddy grass field the game saw a goal scored on Cincinnati’s very first possession, from that point on there was no looking back as the Bearcats rattled off 22 unanswered goals in route to a shutout win. A huge effort was turned in by the Bearcats Ryan Osborne who filled in (from the hockey team) for absent goalie Kyle O’Neal and recorded a shutout with 9 saves. The big Saturday win would prove to be a surge of momentum that carried the Bearcats throughout the rest of their games.

Cincinnati’s first game of the day on Sunday would be against the highly ranked Louisville Cardinals who had given the Bearcats a very close game in the pre season. On this day the same would not hold true however, as the Bearcats were able to score early and often and dismantle a Louisville team 17-3. With this big win Cincinnati cemented their spot in the national tournament and was looking for one more victory to catapult themselves into the top five rankings (http://www.laxpower.com/update08/binmen/rating07.php).

Standing in the Bearcats way for their second match of the day were the hosting Xavier Musketeers who had been resting on the sidelines watching the Bearcats game vs. Louisville and were fresh and ready to begin as soon as the game had ended. The rematch of the “Lacrosse-town Shootout” would fare somewhat better for Xavier, though not very much. Whereas the first game between these two teams ended in a 21-1 Cincinnati win, this game saw a slightly lower score of 18-3 in another lopsided Cincinnati victory.

With these three impressive wins the Bearcats are now ranked #4 in the country and named Division 2 Midwest Regional champs. For the first time the team will be heading into nationals as one of the favored squads that everyone will be looking to beat; and the Bearcats will have to continue their excellent play if they want to remain alive in the tournament battle where UC knows they have a target on their backs.

Xavier Tournament this weekend!!!

April 9th, 2008 | Written by: Michael Noonan | Posted in Uncategorized |

The UC Bearcats Lacrosse team will wrap up their regular season this weekend at Xavier University. UC is currently ranked #8 in the country (www.laxpower.com) with a 9-3 overall record and 2 of the losses have come from Ohio University who is unanimously ranked #1 with a 10-0 record.

Saturday April 12th UC will be playing Marshall University at 3:30pm at the Xavier University Soccer Complex

Sunday April 13th UC plays University of Louisville at 12:30PM and Xavier University at 1:30PM. Both of these games will also be at the Xavier University Soccer Complex.

COME OUT AND SUPPORT THE UC LACROSSE TEAM AS THEY MAKE A RUN FOR THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

Bearcats Tournament Run Ends in the Finals

April 9th, 2008 | Written by: Kevin Bissmeyer | Posted in Uncategorized |

The Cincinnati Bearcats Lacrosse team took part in the Midwest Lacrosse Festival last weekend where they competed with 15 other teams from the Midwest region in a two day tournament at Ohio State University. The tournament consisted of a four game qualifier followed by an eight team single elimination playoff.

            In the Bearcats first game of the weekend they faced off against a traditionally strong Denison University squad. The first half was all Cincinnati as they were seemingly scoring at will and piled up a 6-1 lead at the half. The second half looked quite different as Denison came out strong and got to within 6-5 before the Bearcats regained control and were able to hold on for an 8-6 victory.

            The next three games were not quite as competitive as Cincinnati rattled off wins of 11-0 over Youngstown State, 14-1 over Ohio Dominican, and 12-1 over Ashland respectively. After these strong performances the Bearcats had piled up an undefeated qualifying run and stood poised Heading into their quarterfinals match up with Slippery Rock Pennsylvania to make a finals run.

            In the match up with Slippery Rock the Bearcats came out strong early and were able to out match the Rock defenders. In a relatively easy game for the Bearcats, they came away with a 5-2 victory in which the score did not necessarily represent the nature of the game. The Bearcats would need every bit of their energy as their looming semi-final game with John Carroll would test their heart.

            Cincinnati started off very slowly and looked worn out at times as they got down 2-0 early and remained so until half time. After having their first goal called back because of a substitution infraction, Cincinnati was able to register another goal soon after to climb back in the game and take the momentum. However, Cincinnati was not able to score again and as the game was entering its final minute the Bearcats found themselves trailing by a goal until sophomore captain Ray Harper found the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2 with 2 seconds left. The game would go into overtime and it would once again be Ray Harper, who, 13 seconds into the golden goal period, scored again to advance The Bearcats into the finals. The finals had to be played 30 minutes later against an Ohio University squad that had been resting and watching the Bearcats for over an hour.

            The final was not the Bearcats best showing as they were unable to find their offense and entered halftime trailing 4-1. The second half didn’t get much better; Cincinnati looked tired and slower than OU and found themselves unable to mount a comeback with the final score reading 7-2.

            Cincinnati advanced to the finals for their first time and turned out one of the best showings of the tournament. Goalie Kyle O’Neal was like a brick wall in front of the goal limiting opponents to an average of 2.7 goals per game, while registering a shutout, and multiple single goal games. Helping Kyle was the stellar defense of team captain Mike Noonan, Paul McKay, Josh Schwab, John Paino, and T.J. Duffy who combined to allow only two out of their seven opponents to score more than twice. Perhaps the most acknowledgment should go to the midfield lines which were low in numbers but high in impact. Exemplified by line leaders, Ray Harper, Brandon Mowrey, and Rob Magness, the midfielders excelled in all aspects of the game and were a crucial part of the Bearcats success. While The Bearcats did loose midfielder David Jarmus for the remainder of the year breaking his collar bone in the 2^nd game,  they had significant contributions from recent transfer Andy Herriot who helped to stabilize the Bearcats Third line. On offense the Bearcats lone stabilizing force was Danny Macaully who played in every game. The remaining two attack positions saw a rotation of Bobby Nagle, Stephen Heffner, Zack Fehr, Tony Piloto, and Adam Fintak who all contributed their share of offense for the Bearcats.

            Looking back at the tournament the Bearcats will take pride in the fact that they outscored their opponents 55-19, but will not be content with their second place finish, and will look to win the Xavier Tournament taking place at Xavier on April 12^th and 13^th.

Bearcats Let One Get Away at Home

March 26th, 2008 | Written by: Kevin Bissmeyer | Posted in Uncategorized |

The Cincinnati Bearcats were coming off a big win over their Cross-town rival Xavier on Thursday March 13^th and found themselves having to get ready to play one of their biggest games of the season the next day against the Ohio University Bobcats. The Bearcats played hard but were unable to extend their league winning streak to three games as they fell to the Bobcats 11-6.

            The first half was as close as everyone expected it to be as the two aggressive teams battled for every ground ball and possession and walked off the field at halftime with the score board reading 4-4. The impressive defensive effort was critical to the Bearcats staying in the game as they were losing face-offs consistently. Goalie Kyle O’Neal had a great first half as did the Bearcat midfield lines that were shifted around due to injury and absences.   

            The third quarter saw a huge letdown in the Bearcats energy and concentration as they showed their fatigue and gave up 5 unanswered goals. A myriad of mistakes, penalties, and turnovers plagued the undermanned Bearcats and allowed the Bobcats to pile up and insurmountable lead. In the forth quarter the Bearcats began to regain their composure and closed out the game by outscoring the Bobcats 2-1.

With this tough loss the Bearcats will enter spring break with a chip on their shoulder having lost two of their three biggest games of the season (Ohio State, Ohio University, University of Kentucky). While the loss hurt the Bearcats they remain ranked 17^th nationally and hope to secure their place in the NCLL tournament by winning the Midwest Lacrosse Festival at OSU the weekend of April 4^th.

Lacrosse-Town Blowout

March 26th, 2008 | Written by: Kevin Bissmeyer | Posted in Uncategorized |

    Coming off a 15-5 win over Western Kentucky the Cincinnati Bearcats faced off against Cross-town rival Xavier in what has become known as the annual “Lacrosse-Town Shootout.” The Bearcats were able to continue their barrage on the opposing goalkeepers in this game registering 21 goals.

    The Bearcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to strong play by the attack combination of Bobby Nagle and Zack Fehr. Just after the Bearcats scored their third goal the Musketeers seemingly jumped back in the game by answering with a quick goal of their own to narrow the score to 3-1. From this point on however it would be all Cincinnati as they rattled off eighteen unanswered goals en route to a 21-1 victory over the Musketeers.

    The Bearcats played well in every facet of the game on this night as they dominated defensively and offensively while the middies turned in what may have been their best performance of the season. Ray Harper and Brandon Mowrey combined to go 14-1 in their face-offs and each contributed two goals, while midfielders David Jarmus and Phil Cowles each netted a goal apiece. The attack was led by sophomore Bobby Nagle who compiled five goals by the time the game ended.

    With this big victory the Bearcats have now outscored their last two opponents by a total of 36-6, and they hope to carry this momentum into the rest of their match-ups this season.