2008 Woodie Awards
Huskies 'Stag'nant In Second Half
Lacrosse
Russell Blair
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
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Despite going into the half with a 12-7 lead, UConn (1-10) was outscored 11-1 in the second half and fell to Fairfield (8-1) 18-13 on Wednesday.??
The Huskies got off to a quick start with a Robyn Pastuch goal 25 seconds in, but went on to look sloppy on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball over the next 15 minutes. Fairfield took advantage of UConn's early lapse with a 3-0 run bringing the score 5-3 with 14:10 left in the half. It seemed as if UConn had devolved back to the team seen all season prior to last weekend. ??
The Huskies sprung back to life, however, when Katy Ryan scored with 12:10 left. UConn went on to dominate the rest of the half, outscoring the Stags 5-2 and going into the break with a 9-7 lead, marking only the second time all season the Huskies have led at halftime.??
"They started to slow down, possess the ball and learned from their early mistakes," said head coach Megan Cersosimo.?? "We were fired up and having fun, everyone was working together and a bunch of different people scored, which is always great," added freshman Megan Bohns.
??UConn received contributions on offense not only from its seasoned veterans, but from younger players as well. Bohns netted a key goal to tie the game at six for her first career goal.??
"It felt really awesome, I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Bohns, "I love them all." ??
The Huskies started the second half off with the same intensity that they started the game, adding five more goals before Fairfield could respond to widen the gap to 12-7 with 18 minutes left to play in the game.??
Cersosimo's halftime pep talk focused on consistency and moderation, and it seemed to be working for the Huskies.??
"I told them to stick to the game plan and to keep it simple - possession wins games," said Cersosimo.
??However, after this quick offensive onslaught, UConn faltered and began playing like their old selves, allowing easy opportunities for Fairfield to come back into the game.
?After Whitney Michele's goal at the 18:22 mark, UConn's defense collapsed and Fairfield went on to score eight straight and jump to a 15-12 lead, with five goals coming from Kristen Coleman. The freshman finished the day with seven goals.
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