Brooklandville, Md. – Sophomore midfielder Mia Valletta (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) tied a season-high with three goals but the Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team fell short against Cincinnati, 12-10, in non-conference action at St. Paul's School for Girls Sunday afternoon. Laura Simanski and Ali Mattingly each scored five goals, accounting for 10 of Cincinnati's 12 goals.
Le Moyne outshot Cincinnati, 32-28, but was unable to convert on its free-position shot opportunities. The team was 1-of-9 on its free-position attempts while Cincinnati converted on 5-of-9 of its opportunities. The Dolphins never led in the game but tied the score twice in the first half. After falling behind 2-0 on a pair of goals from Mattingly, Le Moyne junior Jackie Lundblad (Marietta, N.Y./Marcellus) put the Dolphins on the board with her twelfth goal of the season. Two more goals from Mattingly gave the Bearcats a 4-1 lead. But Le Moyne netted the game's next three goals to tie the game. Sophomore midfielder Katlin Walker (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) scored on a free-position shot before Valletta sent in back-to-back goals for the Dolphins.
After Cincinnati pushed ahead by a goal, Le Moyne evened the score for a final time when sophomore Lauren Crary (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) took a pass from classmate Nerissa Barzee (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) and deposited it in the net. The goal was Crary's second of the season and the assist was Barzee's third of the game. The Bearcats tacked on a pair of goals over the final four minutes of the first half to take a 7-5 lead into halftime.
Le Moyne pulled within one just 42 seconds into the second half when senior midfielder McKenzie Gray (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville), the team's assists leader on the season with 25, sent in an unassisted tally. The Bearcats responded with a pair of goals over the next two minutes before the Dolphins made a final push. Sophomore Michelle Phillips (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine Endwell) scored her third goal of the weekend before Walker tallied her second goal of the game to force a one-goal deficit, at 9-8, with 25:18 to play. It was the closest the Dolphins would make it the rest of the way.
Simanski added a pair of goals for Cincinnati to make it 11-8 before Valletta capped her three-goal afternoon at the 15:21 mark. Simanski poured in her fourth goal of the half to restore a three-goal Bearcats lead, at 12-9, with 12:30 to play. Le Moyne freshman Stephanie Dussing (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) provided the game's 12-10 final score on an assist from senior Maura Kenville (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) at the 4:42 mark. It was the freshman attacker's second goal in as many games.
Le Moyne's freshman goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) recorded double-digit saves for the twelfth time this season, stopping ten shots between the pipes for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins (5-11) will look to snap a four-game slide when they host UAlbany at 1 p.m. Saturday. Le Moyne's two-member senior class of Gray and Kenville will be honored before the team's final game of the season.
