The women’s lacrosse team won 10-9 against the University of Albany. Their next home game will be against Columbia on Saturday March 16. Photo by Nicholas Hampton/The Daily Campus
UConn women’s lacrosse (1-5) secured its first win of the season against the University of Albany, ending the game with a close score of 10-9. Despite a point being called back in the second half of the game due to a “dangerous follow through,” UConn kept its composure and continued to play through it, focusing on nothing other than finishing the game. The penalty was called during a critical period, since the score would have brought the Huskies to 11 points and caused controversy.
UConn was poised and patient throughout the entirety of the game, with captain Caitlin Leary setting the tone for the Huskies early on, scoring the first point for her team in the first minute and 39 seconds of the game. The Huskies didn’t allow Albany to get a lead at any point, although the Lions tied the game at two in the first half following UConn’s two consecutive points to open the game. UConn denied its opponents the ability to go on a run and led 6-3 at the half.
Sydney Watson managed to immediately open the second half winning the draw control, which converted into a point by Olivia Miles. Watson assisted Miles with a pass from the right side of the field, along the arc, down the middle for an easy point. The Huskies then went on to win the next draw control with the efforts of Watson, which converted into the second of the two consecutive points by the Huskies within nine seconds of the first point. Head coach Katie Woods said Watson could take over the game if she wanted to.
All appeared well for the Huskies until the Lions went on a 6-1 run following UConn’s three points that started the half.
“For a moment they got a little bit tight and a little nervous, but we kind of tried to calm them down and ground them a little bit and go back to the basics of what really worked in the first half.” Woods said. “It was really all about our shifting, our sliding and our communication kind of all being on the same page and they were able to stand their ground towards the end.”
Scoring for the game ended with 6:36 left on the clock. After Kyla Zapolski scored Albany’s ninth point, both teams went scoreless for the rest of the game and UConn clenched the win.
“It felt great. We needed this and we’re just going to ride this momentum throughout the rest of our season,” said Leary.
The Huskies went more than a week without having a game.
“We did a lot of different things with our transition,” Woods said. “I think for us we’re also trying to figure out … what’s our offensive ammo and who’s going to be kind of our go-tos.”
Surely, the Huskies are satisfied with the outcome of the game.
“It was definitely a great team effort all around. We had a couple rides and we just stuck with it all the way until the end and got the win,” Watson said.
This win is the spark that the Huskies were waiting for since start of their season.
This game brings UConn to 1-1 on their home field, as they prepare to take on Columbia for another game at home.
Hanaisha Lewis is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at hanaisha.lewis@uconn.edu.
