University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies' Comeback Falls Short
9/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
STORRS, CT (September 24) – Finding itself down 2-0 in the second half, The University of Connecticut field hockey team rallied to tie the score at two, but a Kate Gannon goal at 59:11 turned out to be the difference as the Huskies fell 3-2 to Harvard at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex in Storrs. The eleventh-ranked Huskies drop to 5-3 in 2003, while Harvard improves to 4-2 on the year. There was plenty of good today though, as Lauren Henderson's (Avondale Harare, Zimbabwe) goal at 46:56 lifted her into UConn's elite 100 point club. Henderson is the 12th member of the Huskies' 100 point club.
With the Huskies tying the contest at two with back-to-back scores at 46:56 and 50:34, the Crimson found itself in dire straits. However, Harvard turned the tables when Kate McDavitt crossed the ball perfectly to Kate Gannon who was well covered in the box, but managed to curl a shot around the UConn defense and into the back of the net for the game-winner.
The Crimson played a solid first half, and were sensational for a three minute period where they scored two goals. Beth Sackovich scored the season’s first goal at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex by an opposing player when she took a feed from Shelley Maasdorp and fired it past Maureen Butler into the lower left corner at 13:33. Less than three minutes later, Jen McDavitt found herself open in front of the net and intercepted a rebound off of Butler. McDavitt slipped it past Butler before the UConn goaltender could recover and the Crimson would carry their 2-0 advantage into the second half.
UConn notched its first goal when junior Lauren Henderson (Avondale Harare, Zimbabwe) collected a rebound that glanced off Harvard keeper Katie Zacarian and fired it into the lower left the corner. The momentum had shifted and senior Mary Jo Malone (Water Mill, NY) capitalized on that by getting herself open in front of the net just in time to take a feed from senior Kelly Stolle (Warren, CT). Malone controlled the ball and punched it in from five yards out to knot the score at two.
UConn out-shot Harvard 15-to-9 on the afternoon, but were outdone 7-to-6 by Harvard on shots on goal. Butler stopped four shots for the Huskies, while Zacarian made four saves for the Crimson.
UConn is back in action Saturday, September 27 when they take on UMass at 1:00 pm in Storrs.
