University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
University of Denver
Huskies Fall to No. 15 Denver in BIG EAST Title Game
5/8/2021 2:46:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The UConn women's lacrosse team fell short of winning their first BIG EAST Championship, losing to the No. 15 nationally ranked Denver Pioneers, 13-7 Saturday afternoon at Cooper Field in Washington, D.C.
The Denver defense put the clamps on a UConn offense that led the conference in scoring this season, limiting the Huskies to seven goals and keeping them off the scoreboard for the final 28:07 of the second half to claim the title.
UConn, 12-6 overall on the season with the loss, had three players earn a spot on the BIG EAST All-Tournament team in grad student Alyssa Conklin (Sloatsburg, N.Y.), senior Sydney Watson (Prince Fredrick, Md.) and senior Stephanie Palmucci (Herndon, Va.).
The Huskies got three goals from Palmucci while sophomore Kyra Place (Enola, Pa.) put a pair in the back of the net. Watson had a goal and an assist and six draw controls while junior Lia LaPrise (Windsor, Conn.) had a pair of assists. Sophomore Madelyn George (Rush, N.Y.) scored a goal, assisted on another and added six draw controls to her totals.
Junior goaltender Landyn White (Alpharetta, Ga.) was sensational in goal, stopping 14 shots including nine in the second half to keep the Huskies within striking distance.
UConn had a pair of early one goal leads, 2-1 after two-straight from Palmucci and then 3-2 on Place's first at 18:35. Denver's defense began to settle in and the Pioneers used a 6-1 run into the four-minute mark to grab control. Caroline Wiseman had a first half hat-trick, capping the rally to lead 8-4 with 4:02 on the clock.
The Huskies got one back right before the half as Watson buried a feed from LaPrise with just 41 seconds on the clock to send UConn into the break down just three. Out of the break, the Huskies struck for two in the first 1:53 of the second half to pull within one score.
Palmucci scored her third on a free position attempt just 28 seconds into play and George was able to collect a LaPrise pass and fight off a defender for a goal to pull UConn within 8-7 at 28:07. That would be the final Husky goal of the afternoon as Denver's defense took over allowing the Pioneers to close the game with five-straight to seal the win. Turnovers were costly for the Huskies all afternoon, committing 11 of their 20 in the second half.
The seven goals matched the Huskies' season low mark, set in their last meeting with Denver, a 14-7 loss at home. Denver held a 37-18 edge on shots, a season-low mark for UConn.
