It feels like we’ve been waiting for the UConn women’s lacrosse team to break out all season. It didn’t happen in the first three games, all on the road, but it was going to come at some point. They hadn’t lost a ton of talent from last year’s NCAA tournament squad and retained All-America honorable mention Kate Shaffer. Whenever it was going to be, something had to give.
With the weight of a 0-3 record on their shoulders, the Huskies, unranked for the first time this year, stormed into Durham, New Hampshire to play 2-2 New Hampshire. As if releasing all the frustration of their early struggles, Connecticut decimated the poor Wildcats. Every chance they got, they put the ball in the back of the net, not allowing the hosts to catch their breath until the final whistle sounded. That whistle was more merciful than anything else on Wednesday, preventing UConn from embarrassing New Hampshire more than was necessary.
Shaffer, coming off her most encouraging individual performance of the campaign in the defeat against St. Joeseph’s, bested that performance against New Hampshire. She tied the Wildcats’ total all by herself, scoring five goals and nabbing an assist. As was true for the rest of the team, this was a relieving effort for the graduate student. A dominant performance like this was what everyone expected from Shaffer and the squad as a whole. The team that played Wednesday looked completely different from the one that played the first fifth of the season. This will be a great game to build on, as the team looks to put an ugly start behind them.
Another player who had a great afternoon was Morgan Carter. The senior has had an exceptionally quiet start to the year, in line with the rest of the Huskies. Perhaps her three-goal day up north will turn that around. The shots were her first three points of the season, something of a throwback to where it all started. The midfielder scored her first career goal against the Wildcats three years ago, so jumpstarting her season that way could provide a similar spark.
Susan Lafountain, who has taken on a more scoring-dominant role this season, did a better job settling into a hybrid position this time. Though she did see the ball go into the net a pair of times, she added three assists. This isn’t who Lafountain has been so far in her career with just six helpers last year, but it might be the key for UConn’s success. Big assister Lia LaPrise graduated, and a clear replacement hasn’t stepped up. If it is Lafountain, then this is a fantastic way to start.
Shaffer didn’t wait too long to get into the scoring column, and she did it at will. The attacker had a hat trick even before the 10-minute mark, while the Huskies held a 3-2 advantage. Two more scores by Lafountain and Abby Charron gave Connecticut some extra cushion into the end of the period, but they were far from done.
Grad transfer Eliza Bowman scored her first goal as a Husky and Rayea Davis, Shaffer and more hopped on the bandwagon. They peppered the net, sending in five goals in the last 6:12 of the half as the wheels really fell off for New Hampshire.
Three goals spread out during the first half of the third frame extended UConn’s run to 11-0 and put the game into the “beating” category. The Wildcats mustered their first score in nearly 30 minutes of action in the closing portion of the third, but it was all but over by then. Connecticut walked out with a 17-5 victory, sending a message.
Looking broadly, this match is only one of 16. They still hold a 1-3 record. But it shows some promise of what we haven’t seen in those first three. There’s still a ton of time to put the first three in the rearview mirror and essentially reset. There’s only one near-impossible win left on the schedule (No. 4 Denver), so it’s up to the Huskies to lock in and string together a win-streak.
Their next chance to do some comes across the Connecticut river in New Haven, Connecticut against Yale next Saturday, March 9.