Big East conference rival Georgetown will travel up to Storrs Wednesday afternoon for the last home game of the season for UConn women’s lacrosse.
Faceoff is set for 3 p.m. at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
Georgetown (5-8, 3-1 Big East) currently leads the all-time series 16-1. The Huskies (11-2, 5-0 Big East) picked up their first program win against the Hoyas last season when they upset Georgetown with an 11-10 win in the Big East semifinals.
“We’ve always had a huge rivalry against Georgetown,” said UConn senior midfielder and leading scorer Kate Finkelston. “I think I can speak for the whole senior class in saying that we’re definitely trying to go out with a bang; especially against a team like Georgetown. We need our last game on that field to be a win, bottom line.”
The Huskies enter Wednesday in a tie with the Florida Gators for first place in the Big East with both teams owning 5-0 conference records. Georgetown sits alone in third place with a 3-1 conference record. Assuming the Gators take care of a 4-10 Cincinnati team on Wednesday, UConn needs a win to stay on pace with Florida heading into Saturday’s showdown in Gainesville.
“Tomorrow’s game is huge,” said Finkelston. “Ranking is everything so getting that first-seed would be amazing. We need to get a win tomorrow, and a win in Florida. Taking the second-seed would still put us in a position that we’d feel confident, but the first-seed is without question the priority.”
UConn will have to be weary of Georgetown seniors Kristen Bandos and Corinne Etchison. The two lead the Hoyas offense with 27 points each, Bandos is the leading goal scorer with 23 goals and four assists and Etchison has 16 goals and 11 assists.
Once again, a few Huskies earned Big East weekly awards.
Senior goaltender Shannon Nee took home her fourth Defensive Player of the Week award after recording 26 saves in the last two games.
Sophomore Grace Nolan was given her second Offensive Player of the Week with an eight-point performance in the two games of last week. Senior Alexandra Crofts was put on the Big East weekly honor roll for the second consecutive week after another impressive string of performances.
When asked if the balance and strength on both sides of the field on this UConn team was the reason behind this season’s success, Finkelston was quick to agree.
“Absolutely. Without a doubt,” said Finkelston. “We have people on both ends of the field that are consistently playing so well. It’s not just a few it’s everyone here. Having that many players that are as strong as they are…it’s what really sets this team apart.”
Connor Donahue is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at connor.f.donahue@uconn.edu.