UConn Men's Lacrosse

(Worcestor, MA) Uconn avenged their overtime loss of last year by downing the Holy Cross Club Team 11-4, evening up their record at 2-2. Coach Davis was extremely proud of the win. "We played very well. The offense is beginning to learn control and the defense solidified a bit since the Va Tech game. We got a lot of young guys in for some valuable experience tonight. I was especially happy
with the play of Scott Apelgren (Simsbury, CT), who played extended minutes following the early ejection of Pat Higgins. Our two goalies also had solid games. Both Pete King (Bedford, MA) and John Carlin (Fair Lawn, NJ) played well; recording 5 and 7 saves respectively."

However, the Huskies played a far from perfect game. As coach Davis explains, the Huskies struggled on man-up, only going 2 for 6, and also struggled on face offs.

"We did not run our EMO properly. I would like to have about a 70% success rate on man-ups. I don't understand why, but the EMO was not playing as a team. They appeared to expect a shot after only one pass. We luckily did not need these goals, but we must correct the problem before we head into the meat of our season. As for face offs, we only won 7 of 16. We dominated the first quarter 4-1, but after our starting face off middie Jay Knott (Ashland, MA) had to go to the hospital due to a shoulder injury early in the second period, we struggled."

This article originally appeard on USLIA.com

Georgia Tech goalie Andy Babcock (Darlington School; Rome, GA) attempts to clear the ball past UConn attackman Shawn King. (Photo by Dave Adams)
Article and Photos by Dave Adams

Atlanta, GA: Led by an outstanding defensive effort, # 23 Georgia Tech (5-2) defeated the visiting Connecticut Huskies from the Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League by 7 goals in Atlanta. For the second game in a row, the Jackets used an explosive 2nd quarter to secure the victory.

In their first contest of the season, UConn played aggressively in the first quarter. The Huskies matched the Yellow Jackets step for step and the game was tied at 3 goals apiece at the end of the 1st stanza.

UConn was tagged with an illegal stick penalty to open the 2nd quarter. The Huskies would kill most of the 3-minute penalty, before yielding 4 consecutive goals. Penalties plagued the UConn in the second period as the Huskies amassed 5 personal fouls. Georgia Tech led 7-3 at the half.

Both teams exchanged two goals apiece in the 3rd quarter. Tech enjoyed a seemingly comfortable 4-goal lead (9-5) at the end of the third. The 4th quarter belonged to the Georgia Tech as the Yellow Jackets piled on 3 additional goals in the final period.

Junior attackman Gary Bridges (Clements HS; Sugar Land, TX) led the scoring for Georgia Tech with 4 points (3 g, 1 a). University of Connecticut’s Brian Young (St. John’s Prep, Beverly, MA) scored two goals to lead the scoring for the Huskies.

Third year UConn Head Coach Tim Davis discussed his team’s effort following the game and he looked forward to the rest of the Spring Break trip down South. “I think our lack of practicing and playing outside started to show in the rest of the game. Our transition game was terrible and our guys had trouble settling the ball. But overall, I thought our guys played well for the first time out on the field this spring. Nick Borden played a great game in the nets for us. He made some big saves."

"We will see some high quality games down here (on this trip). Hopefully playing this high level of competition will help us out in our regular season back home” said Davis.

Georgia Tech Head Coach Ken Lovic noted of his team’s performance. "It was a good effort by the guys today, especially in the second half. UConn came out strong. It was obvious that this was their first game for the year. Our defense did a very solid job again today."

Georgia Tech faces # 8 Colorado next Saturday in Atlanta. UConn travels to Raleigh to face NC State on Tuesday afternoon before heading to Blacksburg to take on # 15 Virginia Tech.

Box Score:
Georgia Tech: 3 - 4 - 2 - 3 = 12
Connecticut: 3 - 0 - 2 - 0 = 5

Scoring Summary:
Qtr Time of the Goal Team Goal Scorer (Assist if applicable): Game score
1st qtr 9:50 GT Bob Jeager (Sean Dvoren): GT 1-0
1st qtr 7:21 UC Brian Young: Tied 1-1
1st qtr 4:09 UC Brendan Frobel (Brant Goulding): UC 2-1
1st qtr 3:08 GT Gary Bridges: Tied 2-2
1st qtr 2:00 GT Bob Jaeger: GT 3-2
1st qtr 1:22 UC Sean Manley: Tied 3-3
Tied 3-3 at the end of the 1st quarter
2nd qtr 9:30 GT Will Oakley (Gary Bridges): GT 4-3
2nd qtr 4:50 GT Gary Bridges: GT 5-3
2nd qtr 3:19 GT Sean Dvoren (Bob Jaeger): GT 6-3
2nd qtr 2:22 GT Collin Wallace: GT 7-3
GT led 7-3 at the half
3rd qtr 14:40 GT Ryan Hansen (Will Oakley): GT 8-3
3rd qtr 10:30 UC Dan Portoff (Jon Dahlquist): GT 8-4
3rd qrt 9:43 GT Ryan Hansen (Will Oakley): GT 9-4
3rd qtr 6:48 UC BrianYoung: GT 9-5
GT led 9-5 at the end of the third quarter
4th qtr 5:04 GT Collin Wallace: GT 10-5
4th qtr 4:44 GT Craig Kronenthal: GT 11-5
4th qtr 1:45 GT Gary Bridges (Jim Pallota): GT 12-5
GT wins 12-5.

Georgia Tech Scoring:
# 3 Gary Bridges, 3g, 1a
# 12 Will Oakley, 2g, 2a
# 31 Ryan Hansen, 2g
# 2 Collin Wallace, 2g
# 21 Bob Jaeger 1g, 1a
# 25 Sean Dvoren 1g, 1a
# 5 Craig Kronenthal, 1g
# 27 Jim Pallota, 1a

Connecticut Scoring:
# 13 Brian Young, 2g
# 3 Brendan Frobel, 1g
# 27 Sean Manley, 1g
# 4 Dan Portoff, 1g
# 18 Brant Goulding, 1a
# 2 John Dahlquist, 1a

Ground Balls by quarter:
GT: 8 - 8 - 10 - 10 = 36
UC: 8 - 1 - 6 - 7 = 22

Shots by quarter:
GT: 7 - 14 - 11 - 8 = 40
UC: 10 - 2 - 5 - 5 = 22

Saves by quarter:
GT: (Andy Babcock) 3 - 0 - 2 - 2 = 7
UC: (Nick Borden) 2 - 5 - 4 - 1 = 12

Penalties:
GT: 5 penalties / 4:30
UC: 9 penalties / 9:30

Attendance: 100
Weather: 65 degrees. Overcast
Officials: S. Thomas, S. Pieper

UConn completed their spring break trip, going 1-2 in the south. The Huskies traveled south without ever seeing a field for practice due to the relentless Northeastern weather. In summary, the Huskies were plagued by penalties, a poor transition game, and an undisciplined offense, but got great play from their close defensemen and goalies.

"These are things we need to work on," says Coach Davis. "I am not disappointed in their play at all. I expected us to have these problems, and I am glad we escaped with a victory down there. All of the teams we saw were quality teams. We learned a lot by playing them, and I think this will help us immensely in preparing for our conference schedule. The players and fans should not be saddened from these losses. Even in our losses, the games were close at half time. It was the little things; clears, sloppy sticks, uncontrolled checks, and poor communication which led to our downfall. We will work on these aspects of our game, and will be prepared for the other quality opponents we will face this season."

UConn Men's Lacrosse team suffered its second loss of the season to VA Tech in the final game of their trip down south. UConn surprised the Hokies by only giving up three goals in the first half. However, the young Huskies backs were broken as Tech got two chance goals, while the Huskies hit the pipes several times.

The Huskies got their first win of the season after completely dominating North Carolina State in every aspect except for the score. The Huskies controlled the tempo of the game, but once again penalties kept the game close. UConn eventually pulled away and ended up winning 7-5

(Storrs, CT) The Huskies have been practicing for weeks in order to prepare for the impending spring season. Things have been really tough though. With what seems to be record breaking snowfalls, the Huskies have not yet seen a field. They have been practicing indoors in the Greer Gym in the UConn field house. Coach Davis is hoping the transition onto a field will be smooth.

As Davis explains, "I am not worried about teams from the Northeast, it is the teams we will face down south on spring break that are the problem. Those teams have not had these weather problems. With these teams playing 5 or 6 games before our first, I am afraid they might jump out to early leads against. We have a very young team this year. Some of these sophomores will have to step up and take on the responsibilities of a junior of senior. The freshman might be shocked at the speed and high level of competition of the USLIA. The teams we will face on spring break are all very good teams. The team will be physically ready, however, in order to win, we must mentally outplay teams."

Coach Mitchell added, "Practicing indoors has been great, and I thank the Department of Recreation for the field time, but there is no substitute for outdoor practices. Drills, walkthroughs, and scrimmages are larger, wider, and harder outdoors on grass. We will see if our conditioning will hold up on a regulation field in the south. Defensively I expect we will be solid as we have been in the past. This year however we come with a more organized offense which should pose a formidable threat to our opponents. I think the experience gained from the trip down south will strengthen us in the regular season, and on our way to a winning season.."

This article originally appeared at Pioneerlacrosse.com

As the 2003 spring season of the UCONN men's lacrosse team fast approaches, the team is gearing up to improve on last year's season. The 2002 season brought the team much success, going 12-7 overall, however Coach Davis feels there is much room for improvement. The team was dominant on the defensive side all year, allowing a stingy 6.0 GA per game, yet only could manage to score 8.3 GF per game.

"The games were just too close. The offense would allow less talented teams to hang in the game. We relied way too much on our defense," explained Coach Davis. "This year, we must put teams away fast."

This year, Connecticut has reduced the number of games it will play, but raised the caliber. The team will travel south to Atlanta during Spring Break. On the road, the team will face some great competition, including 25th ranked Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and then finishing up at 10th ranked Virginia Tech. These teams are deep in their roster lines and very fast, so they look to give UConn a high level of competition to step up to in the first week of play for the team.

From then, the team should be game hardened and ready for the Pioneer League regular season. UConn will face the likes of Boston College, Stonehill College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, University of Boston University, and many more. The team will play 14 regular season games.

The three games Coach Davis has circled on the calendar are Bridgewater State College, University of Rhode Island, and the University of New Hampshire. Each of these teams beat UConn last year, including a loss to UNH in the Pioneer League Championships.

"To get to St. Louis, we are going to have to get by these teams," says Davis. "This year, I believe we have the means to do it."

The defense is as strong, if not stronger then ever. With returning goalies Nick Borden and John Palazzo backed by two more promising freshman goalies, the goal will not be a problem. The team suffered a big loss with the graduation of Captain Jack Pirina on defense, however Captains Jon Dahlquist and Sean Manley are back to anchor the defense. Coach Davis expects great things from his freshman defense crop as well, including Paul Boyd, Matt Brady, and Pat Higgins.

The midfield was devastated by the graduation of Captain Chris Sidwa. Sidwa was not only the leading scorer of the team, but he was the leader of the offense. Captain Dave Salemme needs to step up huge this year, and needs help from other veterans Jeff Anderson, Ryan Gardrvits, and Scott Copertino. UConn got a great freshman crop of middies this year as well. Coach Davis will be looking for immediate contributions from Jake Gerson, George Rivera, and Keith Amann.

The majority of the scoring will come from the attack this year. With John Bonetti abroad this year, the attack opens up for some new blood to step in.

"Right now, the team does not have a starting attack," explains Davis. "We will see in the preseason who deserves the starting roles."

Overall, UConn is looking to have a great season. With some work, the team will qualify for the Pioneer League Playoffs, and hopefully win a trip to St. Louis to compete for the national title.

For more information, contact Head Coach, Tim Davis at timothy.davis@uconn.edu.