The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/14/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Erik Kong

After a hugely successful three-game spring break trip to California, the lacrosse team will aim to keep the momentum going into today's match-up versus Harvard. The Huskies (4-1) are coming off three straight road victories and will take on the Crimson (1-2) in just their second home match of the year. The game will start at 3 p.m. at the Sherman Family Sports Complex.

After a season-opening 14-13 victory versus Holy Cross, the Crimson have lost a disappointing pair of games versus UMass and Boston College, losing by 11 goals and 10 goals respectively. To be successful, the Huskies will have to maintain the positive attitude developed this season.

"Keeping with our same motto, it basically is 'everybody has to play, everybody has to contribute,'" said head Coach Megan Cersosimo. "It's about taking care of the small details individually and then as a team, and we'll be successful. You work hard, and you believe that you can do this, and things will happen for you."

Despite roughly 85% of the team, including Cersosimo, battling the flu, UConn defeated Stanford, UC Davis, and California over the break, leaving the team just one win away from matching last year's win total. Luckily for the team, most of the players are feeling healthier and ready for the upcoming games.

Cersosimo attributes the huge turnaround in the Huskies' successes this season compared to last season to a serious change in attitude from the players.

"I just think that it was an attitude shift and after the Yale game [the team] thought about what they wanted, and they decided that this was what they wanted," Cersosimo said. "They wanted to win, they wanted to change their attitudes about winning and believing and they've gone ahead and done that."

In the opening game of the trip, Stanford scored the first goal, but after that it was all Huskies as the team never allowed the Cardinal to catch up in the 16-10 victory. In the game four different Huskies had multiple goals including midfielder Shannon Burke who led the team with 6 goals on her way to a school-record 10-point performance.

The 13-9 victory over UC Davis was another very solid showing from the team. In that match, the Huskies never relinquished their lead after going up 4-3. Four different players had more than one goal in another balanced offensive attack.

California gave the Huskies the biggest run for their money on the trip in the Huskies' 13-12 victory. The Huskies and Golden Bears each see-sawed back and forth for momentum, trading off scoring rallies through much of the game.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools