The UNH women’s lacrosse team (1-2) was unable to come back from a fierce performance by the UConn Huskies (3-1) in Durham this past Sunday evening.
The Wildcats took the 21-8 loss to the hands of the Huskies, who are now two games above .500 in the early part of the season. The Huskies scored the game’s first two goals within the first two minutes of the game, and their energy allowed them to get off to a hot start.
The ‘Cats were able to rally back and tie the game on two goals just 46 seconds apart. First-year attacker Katie Taranto scored the first goal of her collegiate career with 28:05 to go in the first half, while junior midfielder Julia Neyland scored her seventh goal of the season with 27:19 remaining.
However, the tie between the two teams didn’t last for long. With 23:57 left on the clock, UConn sophomore midfielder Grace Coon scored the first of her four goals in the contest. The Huskies spark reignited, allowing them to score three more goals to give the visitors a 6-2 lead.
UNH junior midfielder Michele Smith was able to reduce the deficit with 10:33 remaining to make the scoreboard read 6-3 in favor of the Huskies. Sophomore midfielder Emily Curtis helped in continuing to cut UConn’s lead by beating a defender down the left wing, cutting through the middle and sniping a sidearm shot into the cage to make the score 6-4.
UConn stopped the Wildcat run as the Huskies managed to score three goals in a three minutes span to put them up 9-4 with 5:46 left in the first half.
The Huskies were not done, however, as they scored two more goals to close out the first half on a 5-0 run. This gave them an 11-4 advantage against the Wildcats going into the second half.
Coming off their five-goal streak to end the first, the Huskies managed to muster up an even better one to start the second, as they went on a 6-0 run in the opening two minutes.
Taranto was the lone bright spot for the ‘Cats. She charged from the top left of the fan to score her second career goal and reduce the Huskies lead to 12-5 with 25:57 remaining in the game. It wasn’t enough to stop the Huskies from going on another three-goal streak to create a double-digit lead. They lead 15-5 when the clock read 21:43.
Scoring her first two goals of the season, UNH sophomore midfielder Abby Cranney made back-to-back goals look easy. The two goals that were just 59 seconds apart put the game at 15-7. Despite having a comfortable lead, the Huskies went on another scoring tear at the end of the game. They scored five consecutive goals to put the game at 20-7.
Wildcat junior midfielder Elizabeth Blanding swiftly put a shot on goal to make the game 20-8 with 4:10 left.
To cap off the game, UCONN scored with 10 seconds remaining to set the final score at 21-8, and the Huskies prevailed.
The Wildcats face off against Fairfield University (1-2) at home in Durham, NH this Sunday, March 1, at 12 p.m.
