For the third straight year, the No. 22 UConn women’s lacrosse team is set to get their season started against Fairfield, with this year’s game taking place on the Stags’ turf.
The upcoming campaign is one of opportunity for Connecticut, who looks to contend for a Big East championship. They were picked second in the conference preseason poll, just behind Denver, who made an appearance in the national semifinals last year.
Even though the Huskies lost star Lia LaPrise, who accounted for 37 goals and 28 assists last year, they still have a number of impact returners. At the heart of the effort is Kate Shaffer, this year’s Big East preseason Attacker of the Year. The graduate student will be the key piece for UConn’s offense this year, just as she was for last season’s team.
Shaffer’s 55 goals put her in 35th place nationally in scoring, and she also notched 28 assists. She was the co-Attacker of the Year in conference and was named an All-American honorable mention by USA Lacrosse.
The attacker broke out midway through her junior season, creating a lethal one-two punch with program legend Sydney Watson. Shaffer took over as the team’s top option last year and did not disappoint, leading them to an NCAA tournament bid. This year, she will be depended on for senior leadership and could be expected to build on her numbers from last year.
A few other Huskies were also honored with Big East preseason awards, with Landyn White at the top. The unanimous selection has held down the Huskies’ net for the past three seasons and has no shortage of accolades to show for it. The goalkeeper was named an All-American honorable mention twice and boasts a pair of Big East Goalkeeper of the Year trophies.
White was phenomenal last year, saving an NCAA-best 217 shots, with the next best at 202. She used an impressive .512 save percentage to get there, which was good for sixth in the country. The Huskies often find themselves in high-scoring affairs, but they can afford to do so with White stopping shots left and right.
A Husky expected to pick up the slack this year is Rayea Davis, who had an excellent redshirt freshman campaign. Coming off the bench, Davis found the back of the net 28 times and dished out 18 assists. She is set to draw an opening day start this year, and it would be surprising to not see her make a considerable jump. If anyone is a candidate to be Shaffer’s right hand, it’s Davis, who showed significant promise in her first go-around.
Along with Davis, graduate student Madelyn George was the final Husky tabbed with preseason Big East honors. The midfielder helped out some with nine scores last year, but was really effective with her draw controls. She had 4.89 per game, which put her in the top 50 nationally. It’s unclear how much coach Katie Woods will ask George to do on offense, but her abilities to help out in other aspects of the game will be huge for the Huskies.
As for their opponent, the Stags have been great when not facing UConn. Last year, they won the MAAC convincingly and made the NCAA tournament, despite losing to No. 9 Loyola in the first round.
Fairfield started this year as the preseason favorite in the MAAC, but already dropped their first game to Holy Cross. The contest saw the Stags come back time and time again from four and five goal deficits while they spent all but nine minutes trailing and just three leading. Their comeback bid fell short as the Crusaders locked things up down the stretch.
MAAC All-Preseason pick Elizabeth Talluto was the Stags’ best player in the disappointing effort with three goals and a pair of assists. The graduate student will be a critical asset for Fairfield if they hope to upset the ranked Huskies at home.
The season’s opening draw will take place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday as UConn’s quest to another NCAA tournament begins.