Vanderbilt (1-3, 0-0 AAC) vs. Cincinnati (4-2, 0-0 BIG 12)
Friday, Feb. 27 • Noon • ESPN+
Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex • Nashville, Tenn.
Series History
• Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 11-3, never dropping a contest in Music City and will look to extend to a three-game winning streak over Cincinnati
• The programs, who used to be former conference foes, last met during the 2025 season in Queen City where Vandy took a 13-8 win behind hat tricks from both Nancy Halleron and Brooke Baker
The Opponent
• Cincinnati is coming off a 9-3 victory over Robert Morris on Feb. 22 at Joe Walton Stadium. The Bearcats enter Friday’s contest 4-2 overall, with wins over Xavier, Wofford, Central Michigan and Robert Morris
• In the victory over CMU, UC narrowly led 4-3 heading into the fourth before going on a 5-0 run in the final period to seal the victory. The late push was led by sophomore Paige Selhorn who recorded three goals and a assist in the fourth period
• Cincinnati has the 11th best draw controls percentage in the nation (0.682) and the 15th most draw controls per game (15.83)
• Head coach Gina Thomas begins her 14h year at the helm as the Bearcats embark on their second season in the Big 12 Conference. Thomas recently signed a contract extension thorough 2030
The Scouting Report
• Morgan Handzel earned her second Draw Specialist of the Week honor, after winning 12 draws against Central Michigan and eight against Robert Morris
• Lexie Wolfe scored a game-high four goals against CMU, adding five caused turnovers and four ground balls; she tallied a goal, four ground balls, and a caused turnover against Robert Morris
• Paige Selhorn leads the country in points (39) and is one of just eight players in the country to have scored at least 10 points in a single game
Hall of Famer
• During a special ceremony on campus last Friday night, Vanderbilt Athletics inducted Vanderbilt Lacrosse great Michelle Allen into the 2025 Hall of Fame Class
• Allen transferred to Vanderbilt in 2001 ahead of her sophomore year and quickly established herself as the cornerstone of a program looking to take the next step after gaining varsity status in 1996
• Allen led the Commodores in assists and points as both a junior and senior, as well as ground balls as a junior and draw controls as a senior. She was named the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year and earned All-America honors in 2004, when she was also one of three captains on the team that won 12 games, upset No. 4 overall seed Loyola (Md.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and went on to reach the national semifinals
Dores Tab Three Conference Honors after Week 2
• Emme Martin earned the first Goalie of the Week award of her career after recording a career-high 10 saves in Vanderbilt’s 14-11 win over Mercer in home opener. Five of her stops came in the fourth quarter, helping shut down the Bears’ late comeback attempt
• Gabby Putman, a freshman from Cicero, New York, was named Freshman of the Week after scoring her first career goal and posting a career-best nine draw controls. Her nine draw controls are the most by a Commodore in a single game since 2025, when Bailey Lower achieved the same mark as a freshman
• Nancy Halleron collected her sixth career weekly conference honor after scoring four goals against Mercer, marking the eighth time in her career she has reached that total. The graduate student finished 4-of-5 shooting, including one goal on a free-position attempt
