Huskies Fall in BIG EAST Matchup Vs Denver

Box Score

DENVER, Colo. – The UConn women's lacrosse team (4-5, 0-1) fell at No.13 Denver in their first BIG EAST matchup of the season on Sunday afternoon in an 18-9 contest at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.

The Huskies struck first on a cloudy day in Denver, Colorado as Kate Shaffer fed the ball to Rayea Davis for a goal. Morgan Carter quickly put the lead to two as she capitalized on a free position attempt. Shaffer would make it three after Madelyn George won the draw control for the Huskies yet again. The Pioneers tied the game after notching three in a row past goalkeeper, Landyn White. Shaffer put the Huskies back in the lead after a free position goal. The Pioneers then took their first lead of the game with 45 seconds left in the first quarter after two goals in a row. Denver scored once more to end the first quarter, making their lead 6-4.

After a huge save from White, the Pioneers continued their scoring run at 12:09 in the second quarter to extend their lead to three. At just under 10:00 minutes on the game clock, Denver scored again, making it the biggest lead of the game for either team. Abby Charron cut the Pioneer lead with her first goal of the afternoon. Denver quickly followed-up with a goal after capitalizing on a free position attempt to extend the lead to four once again. Shaffer, notching herself a hat trick in the first half, scored the final goal for the Huskies in the half. Denver would score once more to make it 10-6 going into halftime.

Shaffer struck again to open the third quarter of the game at 13:56 on a goal from Susan Lafountain. The Pioneers then went on a scoring run, notching seven more goals to extend their lead to 10 over the Huskies, 17-7, as the time ran out on the third quarter.

The fourth quarter opened on a running clock, with Denver up by 10 goals over UConn. After a stop by the Pioneer goalie, Emelia Bohi, on a free position attempt for Shaffer, Denver scored again at 8:40 remaining in the game. Shaffer, with her fifth goal of the game, scored on a free position attempt to add to the UConn score. George, with 3.5 seconds remaining in the game, capitalized on a free position attempt, stopping the running clock and making the total nine goals for UConn on the day.  

White had a season-high 17 saves in the loss at Denver today. Shaffer scored five goals, notched one assist, and collected one ground ball. George won eight draw controls, scored one goal, and posted one assist. On defense, senior Megan Whitley collected three ground balls and caused two turnovers, while junior Riley Daly collected two ground balls, won two draw controls, and caused two turnovers. Two-time BIG EAST freshman of the week, Abby Beran, collected three ground balls and won two draw controls.

The Huskies will return home to host the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday, March 30^th. Opening draw is set for 12:00 pm EST and can be streamed on FloSports.