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 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 for 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.

Courtesy Le Moyne Athletics