Huskies To Play For ECAC Championship

STORRS, Conn. (May 9, 2005) – The No. 16 University of Connecticut women’s lacrosse team (11-5, 3-2 BIG EAST) has been selected for postseason play for the second time in its young history. UConn will compete in the two-team ECAC Championship on Saturday, May 14, when the Huskies play host to Boston College (10-6, 1-4 BIG EAST) at 2:00 p.m. at Morrone Stadium. The Huskies made their postseason debut in 2000, also in the ECAC Championship, when UConn lost, 14-10, to Johns Hopkins in a semifinal game played at Cornell. UConn was left out of the 16-team 2005 NCAA Championship bracket, released Sunday night.

The tournament selection only adds to what already ranks as the finest season in UConn’s history. The Huskies set a school record with their 11 wins on the season and became the first UConn side to ever post a winning record in BIG EAST Conference play with their 3-2 mark. UConn has presently been ranked for a school record run of three consecutive weeks, peaking at No. 15 on April 25, the highest mark in school history. It has also been a season rife with individual accomplishment. Senior Tracy Mullaney set both seasonal and career records with her 59 and 201 points, respectively. A goal against BC would give her another school record with 154 in her career. Mullaney and Shannon Burke have both positioned themselves in the top of the five single season and career assist charts. Meanwhile, Jennifer Wong has shone brightly in the Husky net as her 10 victories this season tie April Pollock’s school record set in 2000.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have the opportunity to compete for the ECAC Championship,” UConn head coach Bonnie Rosen said. “We have accomplished many wonderful things this spring, but, it was clear after our last regular season game that this team still had something more to prove. We will get a chance on Saturday, against a very good team in Boston College, to come away with our first trophy. Hopefully the experience of postseason play will be beneficial, not only in generating yet another positive memory for our dozen seniors, but also for the betterment of the underclassmen who will return to Storrs in the fall, and for the overall development of this program as we look towards the bright future ahead.”

The series between the Huskies and Eagles has been a tight one. Even at 4-4 all-time, many of the games have been settled by narrow margins with two of the eight meetings needing overtime to declare a victor. In their pervious meeting with Boston College this season, the Huskies took a 12-8 victory at Morrone Stadium on April 6. Curiously, the win marked the first time either team had defended its home field in the series since BC won the first ever contest between the sides on April 29, 1998. Shannon Burke, Jacqui Hamilton and Kristen Link each had three goals for UConn in the April 6 meeting. The Eagles led 5-4 at the end of a first half that saw four ties and three lead changes, but the Huskies scored eight of the second half’s first nine goals to put the game away, including four in the final stanza’s first five minutes.