University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Meets Conference Newcomer Vanderbilt On Sunday
4/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Live Stream | | Big East Notes
Sunday's Match-Up
Fresh off its fourth straight win, the UConn women's lacrosse team (8-4, 3-0 Big East) will continue Big East play on Sunday (2 p.m. ET) on the road against conference newcomer Vanderbilt (5-8, 2-2 Big East). The Huskies sport a mark of 1-2 against the Commodores in a series that dates back to 2001, and UConn lost its only road meeting with Vanderbilt back in the 2002 season.
A win on Sunday would push Connecticut's road winning streak to three games and give the Huskies victories in four of their last five matches away from Storrs. UConn enters the contest with a record of 3-4 on the road in 2015, while Vanderbilt has split its six home games this season.
Last Time Out
The Huskies earned their third straight conference win after downing Temple, 18-6, at the George J. Sherman-Family Sports Complex on Wednesday. Attackers Katherine Finkelston (Leonardtown, Md.) and Jacqueline Jordan (Los Gatos, Calif.) and midfielder Kelsey Catalano (Stony Brook, N.Y.) each had a hat trick for UConn, which scored nine of the first 10 goals of the match.
Junior goalkeeper Shannon Nee (Lancaster, Pa.) recorded six saves on her way to her eighth win of the season, while defender Lauren Kwasnowski (Kingston, N.Y.) boasted team highs in draw controls (3) and caused turnovers (2). UConn, which is off to its best start in conference play in program history, finished the game with at least 30 shots for the fourth time this year.
Scouting The Commodores
Vanderbilt notched its second straight conference win with a 13-8 victory over Cincinnati on the road on Wednesday. Seven different Commodores found the back of the net, including attackers Amanda Lockwood and Mallory Schonk, who each finished with a game-high three goals.
Schonk has tallied a team-high 44 points on 28 goals and 16 assists this season, while midfielder Jill Doherty ranks first on the team in assists (19) and second in goals (23). Vanderbilt's 12.0 goals per match and 12.7 draw controls per game are both the third-best mark in the Big East, and the Commodores commit the most fouls (29.4 per game) among conference schools.
On the defensive end, Commodore senior defender Alex Duckenfield ranks third in the league with 2.0 caused turnovers a game. Maddie Kratz and Callahan Kent have split time in the cage this season, with each goalkeeper appearing in at least eight games on the year. Kratz's 7.78 saves per match is the third-best mark in the Big East, and her save percentage (.449) ranks fifth among conference goalkeepers.
Next Up
After Sunday, the Huskies will be back in action on Wednesday on the road against conference foe Georgetown. The match, which can be seen on the Big East Digital Network, gets underway at 4 p.m.
