By Jessyca Tingue | April 15, 2024
The University at Albany women’s lacrosse team lost a tough battle against the UConn Huskies, falling 15-10 at home Saturday afternoon.
Katie Pascale, #23, had two goals and one assist in Saturday’s loss.
Photo Credit: Bruce Dudek / UAlbany Athletics
“It's always a tough matchup against UConn. They're a really strong team. But there were definitely some good positives from today,” said UAlbany head coach Katie Thompson. “I just think we have to execute on the offensive end. In the first half, we only got seven shots off and we just need to create more opportunities for ourselves and finish.”
UConn controlled the offensive cadence throughout the game. Despite the Great Danes’ best efforts, the Huskies outshot their opponents 38-25, won the ground ball battle 22-18 and won 16 of the 27 faceoff draws. In contrast, UAlbany drew 27 out of 49 fouls committed in Saturday’s game and goalie Grace Cincebox tallied 13 saves to help slow down the two big scoring runs the Huskies went on.
The Huskies outshot the Great Danes 17-7 and extracted 14 turnovers from UAlbany in the first half.
After a slow start, UAlbany went on a three-goal run to go up 3-2 by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, UConn went on a four-goal run aided by sophomore attacker Rayea Davis, who scored two back-to-back goals to end the first half 6-4.
In the third quarter, it was a much tighter affair. A goal from attacker Bryar Hogg tied the game 7-7 with 3:25 left, but UConn went on a two-score run to end the quarter 9-7. Cincebox stood tall in the cage as she recorded six saves to keep UAlbany within two goals. She grabbed three more saves in the fourth quarter while her team tried to mount a comeback.
“She had another really amazing performance,” said Thompson, speaking of Cincebox’s performance. “Having double digit saves against a high powering offense… she was seeing a lot of shots. So [I’m] really proud of her for the way she was seeing the ball and staying so steady…really proud of her performance.”
In the fourth quarter, it was all UConn. They continued their scoring run that started late in the third quarter, ballooning their lead to 12-7 with 9:16 left in the game. Despite UAlbany’s late game push that brought the game to 14-10, UConn scored one more goal and maintained their lead to seal the win.
“Yeah, I think our hustle and heart was there,” said UAlbany midfielder Katie Pascale. “We just got to convert a little bit more, and that just comes down to us stepping up in big plays towards the end. One of our best goalscorers is out right now with an injury, but other people have to step up, I think, and really fill her shoes. That just might mean making ourselves uncomfortable a little bit more in practice, but we really need to rise to the occasion to be ready for these conference games.”
On top of Cincebox’s performance in the cage, Pascale, Hogg, Mikaela Mooney, Allie Maloney, and Kloey Roos all scored two goals.
The Great Danes look to build their 3-1 conference record as they face the UMass Lowell Riverhawks at home next Saturday.
“It's a really big game,” said Thompson. “Every game is so big for us. UMass Lowell is a really good team and they're coming off a big win today. It's going to be key for us to handle our emotions and focus on our actions.”
It will also be an emotional one, as it will be UAlbany’s Senior Day celebration game.
“Yeah, I think my class as a whole is just super connected, and I think that's how we're going to play,” said Pascale. “All of us have really, I think, left our mark on this program. It's always really a threat every single game too, so just really coming together and playing connected will help us beat UMass Lowell.”