The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 15, Cincinnati 14
Records: Detroit Mercy 2-4, Cincinnati 1-4
Location: Pontiac, Mich. (Ultimate Soccer Arenas)
PONTIAC, Mich. (3/10/2017) -- Down, but most definitely not out. The University of Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse team overcame a five-goal, second-half deficit Friday afternoon, scoring eight-straight goals in a thrilling 15-14 win over Cincinnati at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
Detroit Mercy improved to 2-1 at home this season and 2-4 overall on the 2017 season. The win marked its third-straight victory at home over the Bearcats.
The Titans were down 12-7 with 18:25 left in the second half before Detroit Mercy started to turn the tide. Senior
Kelsi Pritchard scored back-to-back goals, the first on a free-position shot and the next off a feed from junior
Jordyn Beam. With the pair of markers, Detroit Mercy pulled to within three goals, 12-9, with 15:50 left.
Beam followed with a free-position goal and sophomore
Morgan Girardi scored her third of the game just 27 seconds later to get the Titans to within one, 12-11, with 12:38 remaining. Junior
Brianna Plester scored a nifty goal right in front of the net just minutes later to tie the game 12-12 and Beam followed with consecutive goals to put Detroit Mercy ahead, 14-12. Sophomore
Lexie Kinmond finished off the 8-0 run with a man-up goal to give the Titans a 15-12 lead with just 3:57 left.
Girardi earned the draw control on the ensuing draw, but Cincinnati was able to force a turnover and cut the lead to two, 15-13, with 1:39 left. The Bearcats added another goal just 12 seconds later to cut the Titan lead to one, 15-14, with 1:27 remaining on the clock.
Girardi grabbed her sixth draw control of the game on the following draw and after a Titan turnover, Detroit Mercy was able to get it right back as junior
Lauren Webley forced a caused turnover with 1:01 left on the clock. After a Titan timeout, Detroit Mercy controlled the ball into the last 10 seconds of the game and Cincinnati was unable to get a shot off as the final buzzer rang.
Beam tallied a career-high-tying five goals and six points overall to lead the squad, while Pritchard totaled a career-high four goals. Girardi notched three goals for her third hat trick of 2017 and added a career-best six draw controls, while Kinmond added two goals and one assist.
Sophomore GK
Allison McDonough made seven saves in net, while tallying a team-best five ground balls. Webley added three ground balls with Beam and junior
Brittany Fenney each grabbing two ground balls. Fenney had a team-best two caused turnovers. Plester added three draw controls for the Titans.
It truly was a game of runs with Detroit Mercy scoring six of the first eight goals of the game. After Cincinnati opened the game with a goal, Detroit Mercy tallied the next five -- two by Girardi, two by Pritchard and one off the stick of Beam. Kinmond made it 6-2 Titans before Cincinnati closed the gap and tied the game at the half, 6-6. The Bearcats opened the second half on a 6-1 run before Detroit Mercy finished the game with an 8-2 stretch in the final 17:18 of the contest.
Detroit Mercy was edged in shots (29-27) and draw controls (17-13), but had advantages in both in the second half. The Titans had 11 draw controls in the second half and 17 shots. Detroit Mercy finished with 17 ground balls and went 15-of-22 on clears.
The red, white and blue notched 10 of the final 14 draw controls in the contest to help earn the comeback win.
The Titans were also 4-of-7 on free-position opportunities. Pritchard was 2-for-2 on FPS. Beam and Pritchard combined to go 9-for-9 in shots-on-goal, with Girardi converting on 3-of-4.
Seven yellow cards were issued in the contest, however just one against the Titans. The Bearcats were also called for 42 fouls, as opposed to 23 for Detroit Mercy.
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Titan News & Notes
•
Morgan Girardi is nearly halfway to her total of 31 goals from her freshman season with 15 markers in six games.
• Freshman
Tegan McManus made her first career start for the Titans,Â
• Beam has two hat tricks this season and three in her career. She had a career-high eight points in her freshman campaign.
• Pritchard has five career hat tricks, with two of them coming in 2017.
• Pritchard has tallied 10 or more goals in all four seasons for the red, white and blue.
• Kinmond has five games of three or more points in the 2017 campaign.
• Webley has recorded multiple ground balls in every game this season.
• Detroit Mercy's 15 goals were the second-most in a game this season.
• The Titans improved to 3-2 at home against Cincinnati, including winning their past three contests against the Bearcats.
• Detroit Mercy has tallied double-digit draw controls in every game this season.
On Tap
Detroit Mercy plays in-state foe Michigan on Wednesday, March 15 at the Big House in Ann Arbor. Opening draw for the contest is set for 5 p.m. and admission into the contest is free of charge.
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