Lacrosse Edged by Cincinnati 9-4 in Home Opener

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Cincinnati scored eight unanswered goals and outscored Central Michigan 5-0 in the second half to register a 9-4 decision against the host Chippewas Friday at CMU Lacrosse Stadium. The matchup marked the Chippewas' first home game of the season.

Central Michigan drops to 2-5 overall on the young season, while Cincinnati moves to 6-2 overall.

Central Michigan got off to a strong start and built leads of 3-0 and 4-1, but Cincinnati answered with three straight goals to tie the game at 4-4 at halftime. The third quarter was all Cincinnati as the Bearcats outshot the Chippewas 11-2. Ava Goeller gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game, 5-4, at the 12:04 mark of the third quarter, when she ran past the CMU defense for a fast break goal. Two minutes later, Callaghan scored again off an assist from Goeller to give the Bearcats a 6-4 lead at the 10:47 mark.

At that point, CMU was still in the game as its defense held tough as goalkeeper Alexa Martel made save after save and the defense stopped several UC scoring opportunities. Martel finished the game with 17 saves, just one shy of the school-record of 18 she set in CMU's last outing at Duquesne.

But Cincinnati's Callaghan put the game out of reach and gave the Bearcats a 7-4 advantage with 3:57 to play when she scored off a pass from Lindsey Durkota. Then, one minute later, Grace Wehland made it 8-4 Cincinnati with an unassisted goal.

On offense, four Central Michigan players scored one goal apiece. Maggie Diebold finished with one goal and two assists, while Audrey Whiteside, Kelly Hoyt, and Sadie Hinkle each scored one goal apiece.

Callaghan, the nation's leading scorer upon entering the game with 31 goals, led the Bearcats with three goals, Wehland added two goals, Kylie Gioia finished with a goal and two assists, and Goeller, Lauren Ottensmeyer, and Morgan Bates each scored one goal apiece.

The Chippewas quickly took a 3-0 lead through game's first 10 minutes. Just one minute into the game, CMU's Hinkle started the scoring with a goal off a pass from Diebold. At the 10:15 mark, Diebold was fouled and sent a shot past the UC goaltender for a 2-0 advantage. Later in the first quarter, CMU's Kelly Hoyt made it 3-0 when she received a pass from Diebold and flicked a shot into the goal.

Cincinnati got on the board when Bates bounced a shot past CMU's goaltender at the 3:58 mark.

The Chippewas extended their lead to 4-1 when Whiteside scored on a free position goal, but Cincinnati answered with three consecutive goals to gain the momentum and tie the game at 4-4 at halftime. Gioia scored to cut the margin to 4-2 and a Wehland goal cut the deficit to 4-3 at the 12:28 mark of the second quarter. Callaghan first got on the scoreboard with a game-tying goal off an assist from Gioia with 37 seconds to go in the first half.

Next up, Central Michigan hosts Marquette on Sunday at Noon at the CMU Lacrosse Complex.

—CMU—

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Team Stats

Audrey Whiteside

Kelly Hoyt

Maggie Diebold

Sadie Hinkle

Players Mentioned

Maggie Diebold

Sadie Hinkle

Kelly Hoyt

Alexa Martel

Audrey Whiteside

Players Mentioned

Maggie Diebold

Sadie Hinkle

Kelly Hoyt

Alexa Martel

Audrey Whiteside