The women’s lacrosse squad hit the road again for their first Big East matchup of the season, going head-to-head with the Denver Pioneers (5-3) for a chance at redemption.
Historically, the Huskies have struggled against the Pioneers, who have consistently remained one of UConn’s biggest competitors. Over the course of six years, the teams have faced off in nine games and the Huskies have fallen every single time.
Denver has been exceptionally strong this season and went into the matchup on a two-game winning streak. UConn also came into the contest with some confidence after an explosive 17-1 win over Columbia.
The starting Huskies featured team leaders such as Rayea Davis, Kate Shaffer, Susan Lafountain and goaltender Landyn White.
UConn began the matchup with an early scoring run to set a high caliber of intensity. Just over a minute into the first, Davis notched her first point of the day off an assist from graduate student Shaffer. The two have been an exceptionally dynamic duo this season and are leading the team in scoring.
Moments later, senior Morgan Carter got her third point of the season off a free position shot. UConn continued the trend and weaved through the Denver defense to notch their third point in five minutes.
The Huskies were majorly successful in holding off the Pioneers’ offense for the better half of the first. However, Denver found their chance to respond to UConn.
The Pioneers went on to tie up the score 3-3 with five minutes left in the first.
Although Shaffer earned her second point of the game, Denver closed out the first with exceptional intensity and unraveled the Huskies’ composure. In the final two minutes, the Pioneers found the back of the net three more times to close out the first 6-4. Despite this, White made five exceptional saves to prevent the Huskies’ deficit from growing.
UConn now had a point to prove and were challenged to maintain their composure. With Shaffer leading the way, the group had to take their intensity up a notch.
Despite the Huskies’ efforts, Denver nailed the net to gain two more points. Denver’s Olivia Penoyer was a critical player in the first half as she earned three points for the Pioneers. The graduate student transferred to Denver after a successful undergraduate career at Yale and was one of the biggest athletes to watch.
The Huskies were only able to get two points in the second, one from Abby Charron and another from Shaffer and headed into the half trailing 6-10.
Despite trailing by a small margin, the Huskies were unable to maintain their offensive aggression in the third as they were outscored 1-7. The Pioneers spent the majority of their time with UConn goaltender White as she remained on her toes for most of the game. The Huskies did make a few strides however as they had four shots on goal.
The final period turned the dynamic in favor of UConn as the Huskies outscored the Pioneers. Both Shaffer and Madelyn George notched the two final points of the game and outscored Denver 2-1.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to bring the Huskies to victory as they fell 9-18. Despite the deficit, the fourth and final quarter was a small success for UConn as they held off Denver’s offensive advancements and maintained their composure.
All in all, the Huskies had many impressive moments throughout the match. White had a season-high of 17 saves, Big East Freshman of the Week, Abby Beran won two draw controls and had three ground balls and Megan Whitley caused two turnovers.
Regardless of the loss, the Huskies still proved their immense skill and ability to remain composed when in a deficit.
Looking ahead, the Huskies will take on Marquette at home for their second Big East contest. The match will be held on Saturday and is set for a 12 p.m. start.