Winthrop women’s lacrosse controls Cincinnati start to finish

The Winthrop women’s lacrosse team dominated Cincinnati on Friday afternoon, downing the Bearcats 17-5 to close the team’s nonconference schedule.

The Eagles (8-2) were led by junior Abigail Blevins who finished with four goals on five shots and also had three ground balls. Senior Jenna Kasmarik and junior Shannon Gallagher each netted three goals while Gallagher also added two assists. Juniors Logan McCarthy and Danielle Ellis along with freshman Katie Clark each scored two goals. Ellis also helped on two more Eagles tallies.

Freshman Alaina Girani picked up the victory for the Eagles, making five saves and picked up four ground balls. Junior Hayley Krause and freshman Katherine Judge each finished with four draw controls.

Blevins put the Eagles on the scoreboard less than a minute into the contest on a free-position attempt but the Bearcats responded just over two minutes later to tie the game at 1-1. It was the only goal the Bearcats scored in the first half.

Kasmarik converted a free-position attempt for her first goal of the game with 23:14 on the clock to give Winthrop the lead back. McCarthy scored both of her goals in the first half, her second coming with the Eagles a man-down. Blevins finished with three goals in the first while Gallagher added the final first-half goal for Winthrop, giving them a 7-1 lead at the break.

Cincinnati (2-8) was the first to score in the second half, less than a minute into the period. Winthrop came back less than a minute later on a goal by Ellis. Clark then scored the next two goals for the Eagles, each with a helper from Ellis, putting Winthrop up 10-2.

Each time the Eagles neared a running clock, the Bearcats were able to grab a tally or two. Cincinnati scored its last goal of the contest with 7:53 on the clock to pull within 12-5. Gallagher scored two straight for the Eagles followed by two straight from Kasmarik and freshman Allie Yeager capped off the Eagles scoring with 19 seconds to go in the game on an assist from Gallagher.

Winthrop finished with 31 total shots while Cincinnati totaled 12. The Eagles were strong on ground balls and draw controls winning each 20-13 and 14-9 respectively. Winthrop also finished 4-for-6 on free-position attempts.

The Eagles return to the field Saturday when they open Big South play on the road at Presbyterian.

Coastal Carolina 9, Winthrop 1 (5): The Eagles fell in a series opener against the Chanticleers in Conway.

The Eagles (12-7, 1-3 Big South) and Coastal (16-15, 4-2) complete the series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

The Chanticleers jumped on the Eagles in the bottom of the first with four runs, three of which came with two outs. The first run scored on a Kory Hayden single to left center as Sara Allen was able to get Morgan Noad to pop up for the second out but the next two batters came through for Coastal. Amanda Daneker doubled to center on a 3-2 pitch and then Kelsey Dominik homered to center for a two-run shot and a 4-0 lead.

Winthrop tried to cut into the deficit in the top of the third as Paige Haley stepped up with one out and runners at first and second as she singled to right, scoring Christine DeWitt from second. That put runners at the corners for Zharne Glover, but she fouled out for the second out. Haley then stole second to put two runners in scoring position, but Leah Young struck out swinging to end the threat.

Coastal didn’t let up as it got the run back immediately as Daneker homered to center on a 3-2 pitch to lead off the bottom of the third.

The game ended in the fifth inning when Coastal posted three runs. The team’s fourth error of the game put the leadoff batter on and then two batters later Sara Rasley homered to center field for a 7-1 lead. With two outs, Kiana Quolas came up and reached on the Eagles fifth error of the game, allowing a run. That brought up Hayden as she doubled to score Quolas for the eight-run lead.

Dallas King suffers the loss and falls to 1-7 after allowing five runs on six hits with two walks in two innings. Allen tossed 2 1/2 innings of relief allowing one earned run on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Quolas earned the win for Coastal in the circle as she improved to 9-9 after allowing one run on two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in five innings.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Winthrop women’s lacrosse controls Cincinnati start to finish."