UConn Beats Harvard, 15-6

BOX SCORE

STORRS, Conn. (March 23, 2005) – Dana Stewart recorded her first career four-goal game and Jennifer Wong made a season-high 14 saves as the University of Connecticut women’s lacrosse team defeated Harvard, 15-6, on Wednesday afternoon at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex in Storrs. UConn improves to 5-1 with the win, tying for the fastest start in school history, while the Crimson evens its record at 2-2. UConn also opened its 2000 season on a 5-1 clip.

Casey Owens opened the scoring 2:27 into the contest for the Crimson, but the Huskies would respond with five unanswered goals. Tammy Michel netted the first two coming off of feeds from Tanya Kotowicz and Tracy Mullaney. Mullaney would then score the team’s third goal and set up Kristen Link for the Huskies’ fourth. It was all part of a five-point day for the senior who scored a hat trick on top of these two assists. Stewart capped the five-goal run with an unassisted tally. Goals by Elaine Belitsos and Catherine Sproul pulled the Crimson back to within a pair of goals at 5-3, but Harvard would come no closer in the game. After a UConn timeout, a three-goal Husky uprising would give the home team an 8-3 cushion at half time. Stewart had a pair of those goals while Shannon Burke would score after a gallop through the Crimson defense.

Wong proved to be the steady backbone UConn needed in establishing its large first half margin and taking command of the game as she recorded 12 of her 14 saves in the opening 30 minutes, allowing just three goals.

With UConn on top 9-5 midway through the second half, the Huskies would score six unanswered unassisted goals over an eight-minute span take a 15-5 advantage and seal the victory. Link tallied on a free position opportunity with 11:18 to play to start off the run. Mullaney scored twice in the rally to record her fifth hat trick in six games this season. Stewart, Kotowicz and Jacqui Hamilton also netted goals in the streak. The goal capped a solid game for Hamilton in which she helped direct the Husky offense even if it was without many points. Molly Bodell scored for Harvard with 2:48 to play to account for the 15-6 final.

Between Wong and Kristen Haldeman, the UConn goalkeepers were credited with 18 saves in the game, frustrating the Crimson attack all day. The 18 saves were just two off of the school record of 20 set against Johns Hopkins in 2000. Kristen Demorest had seven saves in the Crimson net.

UConn returns to action on Saturday, March 26 when the Huskies play host to No. 15 Syracuse at 1:00 p.m. at the Sherman-Family Sports Complex in UConn’s BIG EAST opener.