University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
4-1
UMass
3-2
Women's Lacrosse Overcomes Five-Goal Deficit, Tops UMass 17-14
3/5/2022 6:09:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
AMHERST, Mass. – Down by five midway through the second quarter, the UConn women's lacrosse team worked a furious comeback as it topped UMass, 17-14, Saturday afternoon at Garber Field.
Sophomore Susan Lafountain and junior Kate Shaffer had standout performances, as as each tabbed four-goal efforts to set new career highs. Shaffer also led the team in caused turnovers (3) and tied for lead in ground balls (2). Senior Grace Coon tallied three scores and assisted on three others, while senior Landyn White made 10 saves in net as the defense limited the Minutewomen to just three goals in the second half.
UMass opened the game with a trio of strikes in a two-minute span before junior Madelyn George got the Huskies on the board. Shaffer followed right after to cut the deficit to one, though the Minutewomen pushed out another 3-0 run to close out the frame.
The Huskies started to claw their way back as senior Lia LaPrise made it a two-goal game, but UMass answered with back-to-back tallies to go up by five. Shaffer went for a first-half hat trick before Lafountain scored in transition with eight seconds left in the half as the Huskies trailed, 11-8, at the break.
Coon kept the momentum in favor of UConn to start the third, netting a pair to make it a one-goal game. Lafountain recorded her first career hat trick in style to tie the game up for the first time, 11-11, with 10:04 remaining in the quarter. Senior Stephanie Palmucci gave UConn its first lead, 13-12, but the Minutewomen responded with an equalizer to cap the quarter.
Lafountain and Palmucci stayed red-hot on the attack, thrusting the Huskies back on top, 15-13, to commence the fourth quarter. UMass got one back on a free position shot, though the duo of Shaff and Lafountain added their fourth scores of the day to complete the comeback.
UConn will open a two-game homestand as it hosts Manhattan on Wednesday, March 9 at 2 p.m.
