The No. 25 UConn women’s lacrosse team picked up their first road win of the season this weekend in a dominant 15-4 victory over UAlbany in New York.
Connecticut started off strong with freshman midfielder Anna Magennis and graduate attacker Eliza Bowman scoring the first two goals of the match within the first two minutes. The Great Danes, however, put up a fight and scored back-to-back goals tying the game 2-2 early in the first quarter. The Huskies retook the lead after a goal by sophomore attacker Emma Dacey, assisted by graduate attacker Jenna Giardina.
Despite struggling with penalties and having two players receive yellow cards, UConn still extended their lead and finished the quarter strong. Redshirt junior Rayea Davis kept Connecticut’s attack alive during the second half of the quarter, scoring consecutive unassisted goals extending the Huskies’ lead to 5-2. Giardina closed off the quarter with a final Connecticut goal in the final 32 seconds, putting UConn up four goals above the Great Danes.
The second quarter started off slow, with neither team scoring for almost six minutes. However, the Huskies ended the drought with three goals in just under two minutes. Davis continued to extend the Connecticut lead, scoring her fourth goal of the half, putting UConn up 9-2 and forcing UAlbany into a timeout.
The Great Danes’ momentum did not change after the timeout as senior attacker Anna Zimmermann scored another one for the Huskies. With just over a minute left in the half, sophomore Rile Daly made a play on a ground ball passing it to Bowman who scored her second goal of the match, putting UConn up 11-2 to end the first half.
The Huskies kept their momentum from the first half going as they opened the scoring with a goal from junior Midfielder Karsyn Burnash. This brought Connecticut’s lead into the double digits. A penalty from the Huskies gave UAlbany a chance to score, bringing the line to 12-3 halfway through the third quarter.
Connecticut brought the lead back into the double digits with a goal by Davis in the final minute of the quarter. This was Davis’s fifth goal of the match, making this the third time this season she scored five goals in a game.
The only goal for the Huskies going into the final quarter was to finish strong, which is exactly what they did. Giardina was the first to score with an unassisted goal, converting on a free position shot bringing UConn to 14-3.
The Great Danes once again took advantage of a Connecticut foul called on freshman Ashlyn Roberts. UAlbany capitalized on their one player advantage to score their fourth goal of the match.
Despite their lead, the Huskies continued to pressure UAlbany. Freshman attacker Lucia Smigiel scored her first career goal with the Huskies in the final minute of the match, sealing the Huskies’ dominant 15-4 win.
Graduate defender Meghan Lane recorded her 250th career draw control in the first half of the match. However, she wasn’t the only one with an impressive stat line. Graduate Goalkeeper Tori Cini made eight saves during the match, her second-highest total this season.
With this win the Huskies extended their winning streak over the Great Danes to seven consecutive games over the last seven years. UConn also moves their overall record to 5-2, with a two-game winning streak.
Next up the Huskies will host the No. 9 Yale Bulldogs on Wednesday, Mar. 12. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Joseph J. Morrene Stadium at Rizza Performance Center in Storrs, Conn. The match will be streamed on UConn+.