Spring Break
Lax says goodbye to seniors tonight
Max Jabbonsky
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: Sports
The seniors of UConn women's lacrosse team have been through a lot in their careers. You could say they've had ups and downs, but unfortunately, their time in blue and white has been closer to the latter.
The team's seven 2009 graduates have been the only constant in the program's tumultuous last four years, which included just one winning season (a 10-6 2007 campaign as sophomores) and three different head coaches (Bonnie Rosen, Megan Cersosimo and current coach Angela McMahon).
Tonight, their perseverance and accomplishments on the field will be recognized when the team has its annual "Senior Night" when they host Holy Cross for their final home game of the season. The game will not be the team's season finale (that will come when they travel to Notre Dame on Saturday), but the players do feel a stressed importance on making their teammates' last memories of the George J. Sherman-Family Sports Complex positive ones.
"Obviously, every game is important, but I think this one might have a little more to it," said junior midfielder Laura Eichert. "There's going to be some extra motivation to win the seniors' last game in front of our families and friends."
While the Huskies have struggled to a disappointing 2-12 (2-4) record and have been eliminated from playoff contention, Holy Cross has not fared much better. The Crusaders (4-10) have struggled since starting the season at a respectable 2-2; they went on a seven game skid and fell to 2-9. Despite their early struggles, Holy Cross head coach Stephanie Ridolfi has turned things around of late, with the team winning two out of their last three games.
In their most recent game, Holy Cross staved off a late comeback attempt from a winless Lafayette team and won 9-7. They were led on offense by sophomore Meg O'Leary, who scored four times to add to her team-high season total of 24.
"Their record isn't great, but they've been playing well lately," said UConn captain Whitney Michele, who will be playing in her final home game as a member of the Huskies. "We've been saying that our record wasn't representative of our team all year, so we know it's going to take a good effort to win."
Michele has been in the starting lineup for every UConn game in the past four years and is currently second on the team in scoring. While she and the other seniors will be honored during the game, they realize that the team's chance to win will be largely dependant on the play of a pair of freshman: M.E. Lapham and Kiersten Tupper.
Tupper is leading the team in points with 45 (20 goals, 25 assists) and Lapham trails only Michele in goals scored, with 28. They have been the most noticeable bright spots through the struggles of a team under its first-year head coach.
"They've been great all year long, and this is just the start," Michele said. "[McMahon] is going to add stability to the program for years to come, and M.E. and Kiersten are going to be a big part of beginning a tradition of winning."
The team's seven 2009 graduates have been the only constant in the program's tumultuous last four years, which included just one winning season (a 10-6 2007 campaign as sophomores) and three different head coaches (Bonnie Rosen, Megan Cersosimo and current coach Angela McMahon).
Tonight, their perseverance and accomplishments on the field will be recognized when the team has its annual "Senior Night" when they host Holy Cross for their final home game of the season. The game will not be the team's season finale (that will come when they travel to Notre Dame on Saturday), but the players do feel a stressed importance on making their teammates' last memories of the George J. Sherman-Family Sports Complex positive ones.
"Obviously, every game is important, but I think this one might have a little more to it," said junior midfielder Laura Eichert. "There's going to be some extra motivation to win the seniors' last game in front of our families and friends."
While the Huskies have struggled to a disappointing 2-12 (2-4) record and have been eliminated from playoff contention, Holy Cross has not fared much better. The Crusaders (4-10) have struggled since starting the season at a respectable 2-2; they went on a seven game skid and fell to 2-9. Despite their early struggles, Holy Cross head coach Stephanie Ridolfi has turned things around of late, with the team winning two out of their last three games.
In their most recent game, Holy Cross staved off a late comeback attempt from a winless Lafayette team and won 9-7. They were led on offense by sophomore Meg O'Leary, who scored four times to add to her team-high season total of 24.
"Their record isn't great, but they've been playing well lately," said UConn captain Whitney Michele, who will be playing in her final home game as a member of the Huskies. "We've been saying that our record wasn't representative of our team all year, so we know it's going to take a good effort to win."
Michele has been in the starting lineup for every UConn game in the past four years and is currently second on the team in scoring. While she and the other seniors will be honored during the game, they realize that the team's chance to win will be largely dependant on the play of a pair of freshman: M.E. Lapham and Kiersten Tupper.
Tupper is leading the team in points with 45 (20 goals, 25 assists) and Lapham trails only Michele in goals scored, with 28. They have been the most noticeable bright spots through the struggles of a team under its first-year head coach.
"They've been great all year long, and this is just the start," Michele said. "[McMahon] is going to add stability to the program for years to come, and M.E. and Kiersten are going to be a big part of beginning a tradition of winning."
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