CLINTON, S.C. ? Down 14-3, Presbyterian College women's lacrosse scored back-to-back goals and held Cincinnati scoreless for 15 minutes in the second half of its home opener on Sunday afternoon at Old Bailey Stadium. The Bearcats eventually came away with a 16-6 win.
Junior Jenna Handshoe (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann H.S.) led the Blue Hose in scoring for the second straight game with a hat trick against the Bearcats. Freshman Laura Meade (Acworth, Ga./Harrison H.S.) netted a pair of goals and junior Jordan Newberry (Atlanta, Ga./North Springs H.S.) scored the final goal of the afternoon against Cincinnati.
The Bearcats took the lead early in the game as Lynsey Burton found the back of the net less than two minutes into the match to put her team up 1-0. Cincinnati struck twice more before Meade scored her first collegiate goal off a pass by junior Brittni Dulaney (Rome, Ga./Darlington School) with 24:10 remaining in the first half to make it 4-1.
Cincinnati began to pull away as the Bearcats scored five unanswered goals over a period of 12 minutes to build their lead to 8-1. Handshoe stopped the run by sneaking one past Bearcats' goalkeeper Katherine Russo off a dish by Newberry at the 11:33 mark. Cincinnati's offensive fuel could not be damped as it reeled off four more goals to take a 12-2 lead with just under six minutes to play.
The Blue Hose stepped up their defense and kept the Bearcats for scoring for the final 5:52 of the half. Handshoe netted her second goal of the day with 1:37 left on the clock and the teams ended the first half with Cincinnati up 12-3.
PC switched goalkeepers at the start of the second half as junior Erin McBurnette (Roswell, Ga./Woodward Academy) stepped in for starter Susan England (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman H.S.). McBurnette made three saves and allowed two goals before England returned to the cage with 17 minutes left to play.
PC's defense held the Bearcats scoreless for the next 15 minutes, registering two goals of its own during that time. Handshoe found the back of the net for her third and final goal of the day and Newberry followed it up with an assist by Dulaney with 8:13 to go. After Cincinnati's Ali Mattingly broke the Bearcats' scoring drought at 7:48, Meade capitalized on a free position shot to pull PC within nine points, 15-6 with 5:22 left in the game.
Cincinnati ended the game with a free-position goal to take a 16-6 victory. The Bearcats are now 1-0 on the season.
England made eight saves while allowing 14 goals through 47:36 of action. Cincinnati's Russo finished the day with six saves and four goals allowed while Jen Mott, who stepped in for Russo at with 12:32 left in the game, allowed two goals and made one save.
Freshman Kirstin Stenoien (Houston, Texas/Lutheran H.S.) picked up a game-high five ground balls and also caused two turnovers for the Blue Hose. In addition to her two goals, Mead won four draw controls and had two caused turnovers.
PC (0-2) returns to action on Feb. 27 when the Blue Hose host Central Connecticut State for a 4 p.m. game at Old Bailey Stadium.
