Photo by Parker Meyers, Staff Photographer
For the second time in three seasons, one of the most historic rivalries in the history of the Big East will move from the court onto the field for the Big East Women’s Lacrosse Championship semifinals.
The No. 3 seed UConn women’s lacrosse team (7-9, 3-3 Big East) will face off against the No. 2 seed Georgetown Hoyas (11-5, 5-1 Big East) on Thursday with a trip to the conference championship game on the line.
Back in the 2023 Big East semifinals, the Huskies fended off a second-half comeback attempt from the Hoyas with a pair of uncontested goals to seal a 13-11 victory. That game featured a pair of goals from 2026 Big East First-Team attacker Rayea Davis.
Davis, who reached 200 career points earlier this year, has 18 points across the last four seasons against the Hoyas with 12 goals.
Four of those scores came on March 28 this season, though the Huskies fell to the Hoyas by a final score of 18-7. It was UConn’s first loss against Georgetown since 2022, snapping a four-game winning streak against the Hoyas.
Despite the lopsided score from a little over a month ago, there’s still reason for optimism in the Huskies’ favor.
The Hoyas held Megan O’Brien, the reigning Big East Attacker of the Week for her five-goal game against Marquette (9-6, 3-3 Big East) on Saturday, the first time around, limiting the Big East second teamer to just an assist.
Hadley Bethke, the Huskies second leading scorer and current Big East Freshman of the Week, was also minimized. Held to just one goal against the Hoyas, Bethke scored multiple goals in three out of six games after that point.
The Huskies could also hope to see a better performance out of now back-to-back Big East Defensive Player of the Year Abby Beran. The unanimous Big East first teamer finished the regular season second in the NCAA in caused turnovers per game (3.67) and third in groundballs per game (4.67) but forced just one turnover against Georgetown in the loss and didn’t secure a groundball.
Still, even with the clear potential for improvement, luck will have to be on the Huskies’ side.
The Huskies will have to overcome goalkeeper Leah Warehime. The Big East Second-Team goalie stopped 48.4% of shots faced in the regular season and allowed an average of just 8.27 goals per game, giving up double digit scores just five times.
Anne McGovern will also have to be kept at bay. The Big East First-Team unanimous selection was third in the conference in assists with 24 and seventh in goals with 35, leading her team in points.
Many of those assists benefited Gracie Driggs, who led the Hoyas with 37 goals on the season and was tied for fourth in the conference.
Back in March, the pair combined for eight goals and 14 points, outscoring the Huskies’ entire roster as a duo.
Defender Amanda Brille and midfielder Reagan Ziegler also made the conference first team for the Hoyas.
Huskies’ goalkeeper Sofia Oximana will need a bounce back performance against the Hoyas, as she stopped only 35.7% of shots faced in her go at Georgetown. Over the Huskies’ last three games, Oximana has 36.4% save percentage, though she did make nine stops against Marquette with a 47.4% save percentage.
On the circle, Huskies draw specialist Barlow Clark-Schoeb and Beran and will mainly face off against Driggs and Brille. While Clark-Schoeb, also a conference second teamer, and Beran finished third and fourth respectively in the conference in draw controls, both Hoyas made the top ten.
Despite a rough start to the season, the Huskies carry a 4-1 record over their last five contests, partly in thanks to playing a collection of the Big East’s lesser competition to finish out the regular season. Their win against Marquette, the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, marked one of the high points of the season.
Though the Hoyas come into the tournament off a loss, it came against the No. 1 seed University of Denver Pioneers (13-3, 6-0 Big East). The respectable 11-5 defeat spoiled the Hoyas’ own undefeated conference run and snapped a five-game winning streak in conference play.
Whatever team wins on Thursday night will almost certainly meet Denver in the championship game, as the Pioneers took down Marquette 15-9 earlier this season and are 11-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles.
The UConn-Georgetown matchup will follow the Denver-Marquette game and is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. EST at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Husky fans can watch the game live on ESPN+.