3-Eutectics can't take down 2-Ottawa in KCAC Semifinals

(Photo courtesy of Makenzie Ness)

CREVE COEUR, MO – The second season of UHSP Women's Lacrosse came to an end on Thursday in the Semifinals of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament with a 17-5 loss to the 2-Ottawa Braves.

For the second straight meeting between the two, Mackenzie Simmons was the determining factor in the game. When the Braves downed the Eutectics on April 4 in a 13-10 decision, Simmons netted eight goals in that game. Simmons scored all three Ottawa goals in the first period in the Thursday matchup and had the Braves up 3-2 after one. The Purple and Gold actually scored the opening goal just 2:31 into the contest as Caeley Doran scored her 34^th of the season to put UHSP up 1-0. After Simmons tied it at one, Qiu Ottolino reclaimed the lead for the Eutectics with 3:09 left in the quarter. But Simmons tallied twice more before the end of the period.

The Braves continue to stifle the Eutectics' offense in the second as 2:02 in, Liv Staberg made it a 4-2 game. Just :28 seconds later, Simmons would be on the assist end of another Ottawa goal as Felicia Dixon extended the lead to three. Simmons would score two more later in the half as Ottawa garnered a 7-2 advantage, the second of those assisted by Ashley Santillan. Santillan assisted on five of Simmons' eight goals in the first meeting between the two. With under a minute to go in the half, Ella Penke had a golden opportunity to end a six-goal unanswered streak by OU as she picked up a loose ball behind the Ottawa cage and attempted a wrap-around of sorts. Braves goaltender Shelby Bearden would make a save and deflect the ball to the opposite side of the net. Seconds later, Penke would be stoned again on a point-blank shot from right in front that Bearden save able to get a stick on.

Ottawa would extend the scoring run to seven straight goals as Santillan would find Felicia Dixon for her 14^th of the year and a commanding 8-2 advantage. Melanie Doub would finally end the UHSP scoring drought in a woman-up situation off a pass from Heidi Shepherd to cut the deficit to 8-3 with 9:03 left in the third. UHSP got one more closer 2:04 later as Doran would fire one past Bearden for her second of the game to make it a four-goal margin. The Braves would go back up by half a dozen as Faith Ruoff and KaiAnna Senne would score 1:29 apart and Santillan would cap the scoring in the third with a goal with 2:57 remaining.

It took 1:27 for Haley Smith to open the scoring in the fourth, but it was an avalanche of Braves' goals after that the rest of the way as they scored six more unanswered to finish off the Eutectics and advance to face 1-Missouri Baptist in the KCAC Tournament Championship on Saturday at 1:00pm. The Spartans buried 4-Midland 18-2 in their Semifinal.

Mackenzie Simmons scored six goals to lead the Ottawa offense and Ashley Santillan totaled five assists in the win. Caeley Doran was the lone multi-goal scorer for the Eutectics as she recorded a pair of goals. Brianna Dixon made nine saves facing 35 shots while her counterpart Shelby Bearden made eight saves on 22 shots.

The Eutectics season comes to an end with a record of 7-7 and 2-2 in the KCAC.