NEWTON, Mass. – The UConn Women's Lacrosse team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by the University of Pennsylvania Quakers on Friday afternoon at the Boston College Lacrosse Field in Newton, Mass. This was the third year in a row that the Huskies have received an at-large bid to the tournament and lost in the first round.
The Quakers came out hot, as Maria Themelis put two on the board in the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore, Anna Brandt followed those up with a goal in the next minute of the game to put the Quakers up by three. UConn won the next draw control after a timeout to regroup, and Lia LaPrise, with a one-handed interception, had a 1v1 versus the Penn goalkeeper to put UConn on the board with under 11 minutes to go. Kate Shaffer would the capitalize on a free position shot to put the Huskies within one, before LaPrise, on an assist from Sophie Sorenson, tied the game up.
Penn, yet again, started strong after the break with Themelis notching a hat trick on the day. Morgan Carter had her first goal for the Huskies with less than seven minutes on the clock on a pass from Shaffer to tie the game back up. Penn's Niki Miles scored with just under six minutes left as UConn was down a man due to a yellow card issued to Rayea Davis. Carter capitalized on a free position shot, before Miles ended the first half with another up-man goal to put the Quakers up one on the Huskies.
The third quarter started with a Penn free position goal, before Carter would once again notch one into the back of the net for the Huskies to keep them within one of the lead. The leading scorer for the Quakers, Themelis, scored again with under 10:00 to go. The Quakers scored once more to go up by three goals before a media timeout was called. Carter, on an assist from Grace Coon, cut the lead for the Huskies to two. Penn's Julia Chai and Miles rounded out the scoring for the quarter to give the Quakers a five-goal lead.
It was a slow final quarter of the day for both sides on offense; the game remained at 12-7 Penn until the Quakers solidified their win with less than 2:00 on the clock. LaPrise would add another goal for the Huskies at 20 seconds to go, but it wasn't enough to give them a win.
The Huskies end their season as one of 29 teams invited to play for the NCAA Championship, a great accomplishment in and of itself.
Players Mentioned
- Midfield
- 5' 9"
- Junior
- Attack
- 5' 5"
- Redshirt Freshman
- Attack
- 5' 4"
- Graduate Student
- Attack
- Senior
- Attack
- Senior
Players Mentioned
- 5' 9"
- Junior
- Midfield
- 5' 5"
- Redshirt Freshman
- Attack
- 5' 4"
- Graduate Student
- Attack
- Senior
- Attack
- Senior
- Attack
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