Looking to claim a winning record for the first time this season, the UConn women’s lacrosse team (3-3) will travel to New Haven to take on undefeated No. 6 Yale (6-0) on Saturday.
The Huskies will be tasked with stopping a high-powered offensive attack that has outscored opponents 95-34 on the season. The Bulldogs have taken almost 100 more shots than they have allowed.
Yale takes the 11th most shots per game in the nation with an average of 32.67 a contest, according to the NCAA website.
The Bulldogs have already demonstrated that they can maintain that dominance against high level competition, holding now No. 9 Michigan to a season-low six goals back on Feb. 28 in an 11-6 win.
Notably, they forced the Wolverines to go 0-6 on free position shots. On the season, the Bulldogs have allowed just three goals on 20 free position attempts from opponents.
The Bulldogs themselves have scored on 59.4% of free position shots, while UConn has allowed opponents to score in 61.1% of such situations.
It’ll take another big weekend from top defender Abby Beran to put a leash on the Bulldogs. The junior is coming off a contest against UMass in which she secured five ground balls and forced six Minutewomen turnovers.
That big performance led to her receiving both the Big East and Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Defensive Player of the Week award.
Named the Preseason Big East Defensive Player of the Year after winning the in-season award last year, Beran stands as the Huskies’ best chance at slowing down Yale, as she ranks third in the country in caused turnovers per game with 3.67 per contest, per the NCAA website.
That will come in handy against Bulldogs leading scorer and point-earner Kelly Holmes, who has scored in all six of Yale’s games this season and had multiple goals in all but one. The sophomore’s 19 goals and 25 points are largely buoyed by a seven-goal outburst against Boston University in late February.
Last time out, the Connecticut native posted three goals and an assist against Columbia.
The Huskies hope Megan O’Brien will continue her high level of play to match Holmes. Like Holmes, O’Brien leads her team in both goals (15) and points (26), while also adding a team-high 11 assists.
The breakout sophomore campaign for O’Brien has reached a new level as of late, as the attacker has scored four goals in each of the Huskies’ last two games.
Attackers Hadley Bethke and Emma Dacey (second and fourth in points, respectively) have each recorded at least one point in each UConn game thus far as well.
The Huskies will be working against a defense led by a pair of stars. Senior defender Emmy Pascal is a member of Tewaaraton Watchlist, the top award in college lacrosse. Goalie Niamh Pfaff is eighth in the nation in save percentage at 52.3%, according to the NCAA website. The sophomore won the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association’s Defensive Player of the Week award a week prior to Beran.
Despite the proximity of the two schools, the match up isn’t exactly an in-state rivalry as the two schools have only faced off seven times since their first game in 2003. The Huskies will be looking to snap a short two-game losing streak, as the Bulldogs have picked up a win in the match up for the last two years.
Face off at Reese Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.