One well played half followed an abysmal one for the William and Mary lacrosse team Wednesday night, as they ultimately fell to UConn 13-6.
The Tribe (4-4) did not bring their A-game to the first half Wednesday, as they were immediately attacked by the Huskies (6-1). UConn jumped out to an 11-0 advantage in the first half, scoring at seemingly every opportunity. The worst stretch of the half for the College was allowing four goals in a two-minute span from 7:16 to 5:16.
The halftime whistle could not have come sooner for the Tribe, as they were being outplayed in every facet of the game. The College trailed the Huskies in shots on goal, 15-1 and had committed 14 turnovers, versus just seven for UConn.
To start the second half, the Tribe opened with noticeably more intensity and effort than in the first. The College went on a 4-0 run over the first ten minutes of the half to trim the deficit to seven, 11-4. The run was started with three straight unassisted goals from sophomore midfielder Abby Corkum, sophomore attack Danielle Palmucci and junior midfielder Shannon Quinn. Quinn followed these three goals with a gorgeous shot assisted by senior attack Zoe Boger.
Despite the increased effort, UConn’s early lead was way too much for the College to overcome, despite outplaying the Huskies in the second half. The Tribe held a 6-2 scoring advantage in the second period, as the final score held 13-6. The final two Tribe goals were scored by freshmen midfielders Maddie Torgerson and Hannah Ryan.
“We weren’t focusing on the team. Once we got to the second half, we were saying ‘I’m playing for you, you’re playing for me,’” Quinn said.
Head Coach Hillary Fratzke echoed Quinn’s sentiments about playing as a team instead of as individuals.
“I think it comes down to getting out of that individual mindset and getting into that team mindset,” Fratzke said. “If you do that, you’re able to draw strengths from everybody and come together and put a much better performance on than what you could do individually.”
In the end, the College’s second-half effort was valiant but not nearly enough to down the Huskies. For the game, the College turned the ball over 25 times compared to UConn’s 23. While they may not have won the overall turnover battle, they did win it in the second half. The Tribe also had a much more effective offense in the second half, out-shooting the Huskies 18-7 in that period.
By the end of the game, the College had won the battles for ground balls at 31-27 and for draw controls at 12-9. These statistics and the overall second-half performance were an encouraging sign as the Tribe faced a strong Virginia Tech team at home Saturday, winning 10-9.