University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Cincinnati
Huskies Move Past Cincinnati, 10-4, In Big East Opener
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
CINCINNATI -- Three UConn women's lacrosse players tallied multiple goals to lead the Huskies to a 10-4 win over Cincinnati in their Big East opener on Sunday at the Sheakley Athletics Center. The victory improved UConn's record to 6-4 this season, while the Bearcats fell to 2-8 with the loss.
Connecticut attacker Carly Palmucci (Herndon, Pa.) paced the Husky offense in the early going with a handful of pretty passes. The junior played a perfect give-and-go with junior midfielder Alyson Fazio (Methuen, Mass.), who opened the scoring less than two minutes into the match. A Cincinnati foul left Fazio with the ball near the 8-meter arc, and the midfielder slipped a pass to Palmucci, who returned it to Fazio directly in front of the net.
Three minutes later, the Huskies scored in transition when Palmucci found attacker Jacqueline Jordan (Los Gatos, Calif.) at the top of the 8-meter arc. The sophomore collected the pass and slotted home her 12th goal of the season. Jordan and Fazio both finished with two goals in Sunday's win.
After UConn senior midfielder Emily Anderson (Killingworth, Conn.) made it 4-0, the Bearcats responded with two straight goals to cut the lead in half halfway through the period. Palmucci's third assist of the day came with 6:31 left in the half, as she found a streaking Katherine Finkelston (Leonardtown, Md.), who charged into the 8-meter arc and tallied her 20th goal of the season.
The Bearcats didn't record a shot for the first five minutes of the match, and the Huskies took a 6-2 lead into the break. Connecticut outshot Cincinnati, 15-5, during the first half.
Cincinnati cut the UConn lead to just three (6-3) out of the break, but goals by Jordan and junior midfielder Alexandra Crofts (Westport, Conn.) gave the Huskies their biggest advantage (8-3) of the match with 23:46 remaining.
A pair of freshmen would put the game out of reach, as midfielder Kelsey Catalano (Stony Brook, N.Y.) tallied her 14th goal of the season before attacker Grace Nolan (Marcellus, N.Y.) registered her second goal of the match to make it 10-3 Huskies. Sunday marked the sixth multi-goal game for Nolan this season.
"It was good to start conference play with a win," UConn lacrosse coach Katie Woods said. "Cincinnati came out and played hard."
UConn junior Lauren Kwasnowski (Kingston, N.Y.) led the charge on the defensive end, finishing with a team-high four caused turnovers and three ground balls. Goalkeeper Shannon Nee (Lancaster, Pa.) recorded six saves and allowed a season-low three goals for the Huskies, who boasted a 31-14 shot advantage. Connecticut converted 11-13 clear attempts, and Cincinnati's four goals matched a season-low for a UConn opponent.
"We had a strong day defensively, and we were able to limit Cincinnati's offensive opportunities," Woods said.
The Huskies resume conference play next weekend (Apr. 4) when they host Marquette. The action gets underway at the Sherman Sports Complex at 12 p.m.
Free Position Shots
>> The Husky defense has now allowed less than five goals in each of the last two matches. UConn accomplished that feat just four times in the previous two seasons combined.
>> Sunday's win marked the third straight season that UConn opened Big East play with a victory. The Huskies are 3-2 in conference openers under Woods.
>> Attacker Carly Palmucci tallied a game-high three assists in the win over the Bearcats. It was the third time the junior finished a match with at least three assists in her career.
