April 21, 2013
STORRS, Conn. – No. 19/RV Connecticut (13-1, 5-1 BIG EAST) used four goals from Morgan O’Reilly to upset the No. 7/7 University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team, 10-7, Sunday afternoon at the Sherman Complex.
Notre Dame entered the contest averaging over 13 goals a game on 27-plus shots a contest. The Huskies, however, shut down the Irish offense for much of the day, allowing only seven goals on 23 attempts.
The Irish also entered the game averaging 12 draw controls per contest, but had difficulty for the second game in a row wrangling them in. UConn collected 11 to eight for the Irish, including two that led to Huskie goals within 40 seconds.
Notre Dame came out of the gate cold as the Huskies built a 4-1 lead on their way to taking a 6-4 advantage into the halftime break. Neither team scored for almost 10 minutes, but UConn struck pay dirt twice within 27 seconds as O’Reilly lifted the lid at 20:31 and Carly Palmucci found the back of the net at 20:04.
After Margaret Smith trimmed the lead to 2-1 just 26 seconds later, Carly Palmucci moved the margin back to two with a score at 18:01. Another goal by Lauren Kahn made the score 4-1 with just 10:01 left in the half. After Jenny Granger scored at 7:10 to make it 4-2, the two teams traded goals to give the half its final score.
Normally a second half team, the Irish found little success in the second frame, as the Huskies put away the game early with three goals within the first five minutes to take a 9-4 lead. O’Reilly scored twice within 31 seconds and Ally Fazio followed just 1:21 later to put the Irish in a five-goal hole.
Notre Dame scored just three goals in the second half, with two coming from Lauren Sullivan in the last 5:19 to trim the lead to 10-7 with 4:17 left in regulation.
Goalie Ellie Hilling (10-3) suffered the loss, allowing 10 goals in 60:00 of action while making eight saves.
L. Sullivan paced the Irish with a hat trick on just five shots, while four other Irish players scored one goal each. Granger had one goal and both of Notre Dame’s two assists.
On defense, Barbara Sullivan collected six of Notre Dame’s eight draws and sophomore Leah Gallagher had three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
UConn’s Shannon Nee (11-1) picked up her 11th win of the season after allowing just seven goals while making 10 saves.
Kacey Pippitt and Palmucci each tallied two goals to go along with O’Reilly’s four. Palmucci also added a pair of assists.
The Irish (11-3, 5-3 BIG EAST) return home to Arlotta Stadium at 7 p.m. Wednesday to play host to No. 2/4 Northwestern (13-2, 4-1 ALC) in a key non-conference matchup.
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