Spring Break
Huskies Travel To Face Nation's Best
Lacrosse
Mike Northup
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Sports
Notre Dame is off to yet another solid start this season. The team's only losses came to Northwestern, (18-10) and No. 8 Syracuse (16-13). Most recently, the Fighting Irish are coming off an 11-1 thrashing of fellow Big East team Loyola. Other notable wins this year for the team include a 10-9 overtime win over No. 6 James Madison and a 9-7 victory over No. 16 Yale - the only other team the Huskies have lost to this season.
To be successful in tonight's game the Huskies will have to find a way to control the tenacious Notre Dame offense led by player-of-the-year candidate Caitlin McKinney. McKinney, who plays both midfield and attack, is leads the team with 40 points on a team-high tying 30 goals and 10 assists. Midfielder/Attacker Jillian Byers, also a player of the year candidate, has 30 goals to go along with 5 assists on the year. McKinney and Byers are just two of six Irish players with double-digit goal totals this year. Four of the last five wins for Notre Dame have come by a margin of 4 or more goals which puts extra pressure on the Huskies to keep pace with the high-octane Irish Offense.
The Notre Dame game is the first night game of the season and coach Cersosimo said the team is looking forward to playing under the lights of Notre Dame's Krause Stadium.
"I think every night game has the added benefit of excitement - you're playing at a different time, the lights are on and I just think it adds excitement," Cersosimo said.
Another interesting note about the game tonight is that UConn's own scoring machine, Burke (19 goals and 16 assists on the year), will be met by a Notre Dame defense containing none other than Shannon Burke. Notre Dame's Burke is second on the team this season with 12 caused turnovers.
After the Notre Dame match, the Huskies will have to focus their collective energies on finding a way to slow down a red-hot Wildcats team that hasn't lost since an opening-day 9-8 defeat at the hands of No. 2 North Carolina. Northwestern has absolutely crushed anybody and everybody they have faced since that first loss of the season. The Wildcats average margin of victory in their five victories this year is 12.4 goals per game. The defense has been nothing short of tenacious this year too, holding opponents to a mere 5.5 goals per game.
To be successful in tonight's game the Huskies will have to find a way to control the tenacious Notre Dame offense led by player-of-the-year candidate Caitlin McKinney. McKinney, who plays both midfield and attack, is leads the team with 40 points on a team-high tying 30 goals and 10 assists. Midfielder/Attacker Jillian Byers, also a player of the year candidate, has 30 goals to go along with 5 assists on the year. McKinney and Byers are just two of six Irish players with double-digit goal totals this year. Four of the last five wins for Notre Dame have come by a margin of 4 or more goals which puts extra pressure on the Huskies to keep pace with the high-octane Irish Offense.
The Notre Dame game is the first night game of the season and coach Cersosimo said the team is looking forward to playing under the lights of Notre Dame's Krause Stadium.
"I think every night game has the added benefit of excitement - you're playing at a different time, the lights are on and I just think it adds excitement," Cersosimo said.
Another interesting note about the game tonight is that UConn's own scoring machine, Burke (19 goals and 16 assists on the year), will be met by a Notre Dame defense containing none other than Shannon Burke. Notre Dame's Burke is second on the team this season with 12 caused turnovers.
After the Notre Dame match, the Huskies will have to focus their collective energies on finding a way to slow down a red-hot Wildcats team that hasn't lost since an opening-day 9-8 defeat at the hands of No. 2 North Carolina. Northwestern has absolutely crushed anybody and everybody they have faced since that first loss of the season. The Wildcats average margin of victory in their five victories this year is 12.4 goals per game. The defense has been nothing short of tenacious this year too, holding opponents to a mere 5.5 goals per game.
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