This story first appeared at USLIA.com
By Josh Blumenthal
Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League Correspondent to USLIA.com
***This is the second installment of the Pioneer League Coaches interview***
Recently we had a chance to sit down with University of Connecticut head coach Tim Davis and get his thoughts on the season at hand as well as Connecticut lacrosse. Currently Coach Davis has led his team to a 1-2 Pioneer League record, taking ranked teams New Hampshire and Rhode Island to the wire.
After playing his college days in a Connecticut uniform, Davis has taken over the head coaching reigns in Storrs this season. While a member of the Husky squad, Davis played for four years as an attack man and was awarded both Pioneer First and Second team awards.
JB: What do you think about lacrosse in the state of CT?
Coach Davis: I believe that Connecticut produces some of the best lacrosse players in the nation.
JB: Where do you see the USLIA going?
Coach Davis: I see the USLIA continuing to expand, especially on the east coast. I believe more teams are looking into joining the USLIA from our area, and the competition will grow fiercer.
JB: What do you think about having a Heisman or Tewaaraton Trohpy for the USLIA?
Coach Davis: I don’t believe this is in the near future for the USLIA. In order to have an award of this caliber, teams will need more exposure and the voters will need to be able to follow each nominee's season, not by just statistics, but also by watching how they play and handle different game situations.
JB: What are your thoughts on your team thus far?
Coach Davis: I believe my team has enormous potential. UConn has some of the best raw athletic talent I've seen in the Pioneer League, but with the weather situation, a lack of field practice has really hurt our ability to harness our potential and sharpen our team play.
JB: Although you are 1-2, you have taken to premiere teams in the Pioneer League to the wire, your thoughts on that?
Coach Davis: I am very proud of the way my team performed in our two losses vs. URI and UNH. In both games, UConn amassed around 12 penalties and looked very sloppy in the offensive side of the field. By the time we face these teams again in the playoffs, I guarantee that this will not be the case, and the Huskies will come out on top.
JB: Any closing thoughts?
Coach Davis: To the rest of the USLIA Leagues, I would just like to add that the Pioneer League, even in one year, has grown and each team is much stronger than last year. Which ever team makes it out of the PCLL tournament, I expect them to go far in the national tournament, giving the dominant teams from the south and west a run for their money.
This article first appeared at USLIA.com
After sixteen days of rest after their spring break trip to the south, The University of Rhode Island Rams were anxious to get back on the field. Unfortunately they would not see field on Monday, as the Huskies home field had been destroyed by a weekend Rugby tournament, and team was left with nothing more than deep mud-pit with goals at each end.
The game began very slow, as both teams adjusted to the mud. The first goal came almost ten minutes into the game as Geoff Knowlten drew a double team and dished to Whitney Watts for a hard crank shot that got past the Husky goalie. URI would score again at 11:25 into the first quarter as Watts would roll away from the double team for a quick right-handed shot. UConn would answer back in transition, as Steve Colite was able to finish after a great clearing pass from the defense that left him one on one with the Ram goalie. The first quarter would end with the Rams leading 2-1.
The UConn defense tightened up and would hold the Rams scoreless in the second quarter. The Huskies tied the game at 4:23 in the second as Chris Sidwa found Steve Colite on the crease for his second goal of the game. The teams went to the half knotted at two.
The third quarter would begin just as slow as the two previous quarters, as both high powered offenses were stagnated by the mud. The Rams would open the second half scoring at 5:28 in the third as Sean Lindberg passed to Mike Jacobs who was left open on the crease. Lindberg would then get a goal himself on a fast break assist from Whitney Watts. The Rams would get their biggest lead of the game at 5-2, when Watts again scored unassisted. The teams would match goals for the rest of the third quarter, which ended with the Rams ahead 6-3.
The Huskies came out fired up for the fourth quarter and got themselves back into the game with three quick goals. The first goal came on an extra man opportunity as Steve Colite found Matt Whitneben on the left side of the goal for a quick shot. The second goal was a great individual effort by Colite who was hit on the crease and was somehow able to get the shot off anyway. The tying goal came on the ensuing face off as a blown fast break led to Tim Davis kicking the ball in for the goal. The Rams would answer though to regain the lead twenty seconds later as Whitney Watts found Freshman Shawn McCormick for the quick stick goal. The Huskies were not done yet as they re-tied the game at 5:33 into the quarter. The Rams re-captured the lead as Watts scored two more unassisted goals, giving them a 9-7 lead. The resilient Huskies would not go away though as Tim Davis made it a one goal game with 50 seconds remaining. The Huskies won the ensuing face-off but the Rams defense stepped up and was able to get the ball back to the offensive end of the field, where they iced the game on feed from Tony Axtmann to Sean Lindberg for the goal.
"I was very pleased with the play of the defense, in those conditions they needed to step up and they did. They are playing much better this year as a team, and they have handled a lot of difficult situations this year." Said Head Coach Charles Arthur. The defense of Matt Rubin, Paul Decarlo, and Michael Lord was led by the play of goal keeper John Melius who had 14 saves.
