Big, Big Win For Lacrosse

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Fourth time's the charm.

Jocelyne Lemay scored in overtime on Friday, lifting Central Michigan to a thrilling 12-11 nonconference lacrosse victory over Cincinnati in the Chippewas' home opener at the Central Michigan Lacrosse/Soccer Complex.

It marked CMU's first win over the Bearcats. The two programs have met in each of the past three years. CMU is 2-1; while Cincinnati slipped to 3-3.

"We had an excellent week of preparation," CMU coach Sara Tisdale said. "We didn't overthink it; we focused on us and it was a ton of fun to see them buy in. We had a great practice (on Thursday), and they had the best warmup I've seen from them. For us, to execute at this level against Cincinnati, it's huge."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Chippewas got off to another quick start as junior Tyra Prince and Lemay scored the game's first two goals in the first 3:40. Anna Schoonover and Natalie Karlen added goals later in the half.

The Chippewas defense held their ground as Dominque Hamman had seven saves in the game's first 14 minutes, keeping Cincinnati off the scoreboard.

The Bearcats made a late first-half run, scoring four consecutive goals to tie the game 4-4. Lemay's second goal of the game put CMU back in front, 5-4.

Jessica Schuchardt had the Chippewas' first three goals of the second half for the natural hat trick. Her goals came from the 1:35 mark through 8:11 as she increased her season goal total to seven. Karlen scored two more goals in the second half for the hat trick, giving her a team-high eight goals on the season.

The Bearcats roared back with four consecutive goals to tie the game and send it to overtime tied 11-11.

Lemay found the back of the net for the game-winner on a free position shot 4:34 into the extra session. The goal gave her a hat trick as well.

"I think the big thing is trusting (my) teammates to get in on the line (for the free position goal)," Lemay said. "We do eight-meter shots (free position shots) every single practice and that really helped me zone in, finish it and win the game."

Hamman made 16 saves.

EXPERIENCE PAYS
Friday's game marked the fourth against Cincinnati for the CMU senior class. The closest CMU has come to the Bearcats in their previous three meeting was an eight-goal loss. The seniors getting their first win against Cincinnati in such dramatic fashion shows how much maturity and experience they, and the program, have gained, Tisdale said.

"Experience is the best teacher," she said. "I'm so proud of how they managed possessions … You saw the older athletes take over, lead by example and manage those last couple of possessions to put us in the position so we could have those looks. That was awesome, and very mature of our athletes. They took everything (they learned) and combined it into the win today.

"The biggest thing is steppingstones," Lemay said. "Each year, (we've made progress) to being better and this year, we were finally able to put everything together. This has been a rival team we've always wanted to beat, and I think we've finally meshed as a team. That's how I got my goal (in overtime) was because of my teammates."

NEXT
The Chippewas will travel to San Diego, Calif. to face off against San Diego State Tuesday, March 5 and then will remain in the Golden State to play UC Davis on Friday, March 8.

Next Event

Team Stats

Jocelyne Lemay

Jessica Schuchardt

Natalie Karlen

Tyra Prince

Players Mentioned

Natalie Karlen

Jocelyne Lemay

Tyra Prince

Anna Schoonover

Jessica Schuchardt

Players Mentioned

Natalie Karlen

Jocelyne Lemay

Tyra Prince

Anna Schoonover

Jessica Schuchardt