The University of Connecticut is looking at a potential fourth win in a row. The women’s lacrosse team will return home at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to take on Manhattan College.
UConn will be playing at the Shenkman Training Center for the second time this season due to weather. The game was moved indoors due to Wednesday’s impending snowstorm and will have no spectators. The game time was moved up from its original start time of 2 p.m.
The Huskies are coming off an extremely successful two-game road campaign, which included a double-digit demolition of New Hampshire and an arguably more impressive and victorious comeback against UMass. While there were plenty of takeaways from the road trip, the biggest takeaway may be the depth of the Huskies lineup.
That depth will be in play against a 4-1 Jaspers lineup that has looked extremely impressive since its opening game road loss to Columbia. Fans can certainly expect a competitive and potentially close finish.
Manhattan’s clear leader through this four-game win streak has been senior Grace Lipponer, who’s shown out for the Jaspers with 17 goals and 12 assists. Those numbers are certainly impressive and have been a big reason for the success of the program this season.
While Lipponer has done much of the scoring, Meghan Roding has also been a valuable weapon for the Jaspers, contributing 11 goals and five assists. Jaspers goalkeeper Ashley Gambardella has grabbed 32 saves for the Jaspers through five games.
However, Manhattan couldn’t have run into UConn at a poorer time. The Huskies are on fire through their past three contests, with much of that success due to rising star Susan Lafountain. The sophomore has seven goals on the season and has been an utter force on the scoring end. With such limited playing time last year, Lafountain’s rise to prominence on the team has been just what the Huskies are looking for.
Don’t forget about Grace Coon either. After being held scoreless against New Hampshire, Coon returned to her usual form against UMass, grabbing three goals and three assists. Those three points add to a season total of 11 for the senior. Manhattan will need to contain Coon on offense if it wants a chance in this matchup.
UConn’s team defense has been extremely impressive, as it has held opponents to just three goals in the second half in their past two contests, including outscoring their opponents 9-3 overall in those contests. The team will look to continue its defensive strength on Wednesday.
The game can be streamed on FloSports.
