No. 18 UConn Falls at No. 8 Georgetown, 16-8

BOX SCORE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 23, 2005) – Playing for a share of its first ever BIG EAST Conference championship, the No. 18 Connecticut women’s lacrosse team was handed a 16-8 loss by a No. 8 Georgetown side which claimed its fifth-straight league title at North Kehoe Field in our nation’s capital on Saturday afternoon. UConn dips to 10-4 overall and 3-2 in BIG EAST play. Despite the disappointing loss, the Huskies do conclude their first ever winning conference season and will set a school record for most overall wins in a single season with a victory in either of their final two outings. The Hoyas up their mark to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in BIG EAST play this season, also remaining perfect at 29-0 all-time in BIG EAST play.

The sides were all square at 2-2 midway through an even first half. Sarah Oliphant struck first, unassisted, putting the Hoyas on top 3:04 into the game. Jacqui Hamilton tallied the next two goals to put the Huskies up by one, 2-1, at 23:17. Dana Stewart assisted on Hamilton’s second goal. Sara Zorzi tied the score, off of an Oliphant feed, at 19:18. The draw held up for 12 minutes until Lucy Poole got loose to put the Hoyas on top with 7:13 to play before the half. Brittany Baschuk would double the Hoya edge with an unassisted strike at 3:11 and Oliphant would score with just nine seconds to play before halftime to put Georgetown up 5-2.

After the break, GU would continue its run and extend its lead to four goals when Coco Stanwick tallied with 26:18 to play in the game. Kristen Link converted on Laura Trzasko’s feed for UConn to end the slide and pull the Huskies to within three goals at 6-3 with 26:43 to play, but Poole would answer for the Hoyas just over a minute later and trigger a sequence that would see the Hoyas score four times in just 1:24. Allison Chambers had a pair of goals in the burst. Tracy Mullaney netted her lone goal of the day at 23:03 from Shannon Burke, but the Hoyas would not relent. Stanwick and Baschuk scored the next two goals before Hamilton’s pass to Link resulted in a goal at 18:35. The teams traded goals by Catherine Elbe and Burke to make it a 13-6 game with 17:07 to play. Trzasko picked up a goal to match her earlier assist for the Huskies with 16:18 to play in the contest. As the clock ticked under 10 minutes remaining, Burke cut UConn’s deficit to 13-8 with an unassisted tally, giving her four points for the game. Chambers completed her Hoya hat trick at 9:26, and added a fourth strike moments later, giving Georgetown a 15-8 cushion. Hollis Pica’s goal, from Stanwick, at 6:12 accounted for the 16-8 final score in a contest which was fairly even territorially, but saw Georgetown convert much more frequently on its scoring opportunities.

Although in a losing effort, Mullaney’s goal was rather significant. It marked her 21st consecutive game scoring a goal equalling Pam Lowie’s school record run. Mullaney was last held without a point on April 4, 2004 when UConn lost, 19-4, to Northwestern. The 21-game point scoring streak is the fourth longest in UConn history. That record of 26 games is shared by Lowie, Kariane Lauri and Heather Bliss.

Jennifer Wong made the start in goal for UConn and allowed 13 goals over her 46 minutes of playing time, making 11 saves. In relief, Kristen Haldeman allowed three goals while stopping four shots. Maggie Koch and Sarah Robinson shared time in the Hoya cage, combining to make 14 saves.

UConn will return to action on Wednesday, April 27 when the Huskies play host to Yale at 7:00 p.m.