The first half was very back-and-forth, and it was highlighted by a four-goal Vanderbilt run that allowed them to take a 11-7 lead into the half. (Eric Wang/The Daily Campus)
The Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team scored seven of the final nine goals in the game against UConn on Sunday afternoon to secure their 10th win of the season while UConn faced its fifth-straight loss.
The Huskies (2-13, 0-3 The American) tied their season high with 15 goals scored, but the Commodores (10-3, 2-1 The American) scored an unmatchable 22 goals, which was their season high as well.
Vanderbilt scored first, but UConn battled back and took its only lead of the game when Sydney Watson scored to make it 2-1. That lead was short-lived, however, as the Commodores scored two straight to make it 3-2.
The first half was very back-and-forth, and it was highlighted by a four-goal Vanderbilt run that allowed them to take a 11-7 lead into the half.
The second half started off with goals on each side before the Huskies went on a three-goal run to cut the Vanderbilt lead to 14-12. They never got any closer than two goals though, as Vanderbilt finished the game on huge run and left UConn in the dust.
Watson led the Huskies with four goals. Caitlin Leary added three, while Olivia Miles, Lia LaPrise and Brooke Jensen all contributed two goals. Anna Costello and Abby Vetsch rounded out the UConn scorers with one goal each. Both Miles and Stephanie Palmucci had two assists in the loss.
For Vanderbilt, 10 different players contributed the 22 goals. They were led by Sophie Furlong, who had five goals and two assists. Melanie Becker, Julie Blaze and Maddie Souza also recorded hat tricks with three goals each.
There was plenty of offense and not much defense on either side, but Vanderbilt was simply the better team. The Commodores sunk 22 of their 29 shots on goal, which is an unbelievable 76 percent shooting percentage. They also caused the Huskies to turn the ball over 15 times, creating more opportunities for themselves on offense.
In a game with just 12 saves total on both sides, whichever team got more shots on net was going to win. Vanderbilt got nine more shots on net than UConn did and won the game by seven goals.
The Huskies were able to hang with one of the best teams in the conference for most of the game, but they ran out of steam at the end, especially on the defensive end. This was the sixth time this season in which UConn scored over 10 goals but failed to win the game.
Next up, the Huskies return home to take on conference opponent Florida, who is undefeated in The American, for senior day next Saturday.
Danny Barletta is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at daniel.barletta@uconn.edu.
