March 27, 2011- The University of Connecticut’s Men Lacrosse team opened their season this past weekend in Memphis, TN in the Volunteer Invitational. It was a great opportunity for not only the team, but the UConn program, which has never made a trip like this in its history. The Huskies were one of four teams invited to the tournament along with Indiana University, Texas A&M, and the 
University of Tennessee.
The season opener was Friday against Texas A&M, and it was clear the Huskies had not played a game. They struggled against the seasoned Aggies and limped to a disappointing 14-7 loss. However, the Huskies were able to regroup and salvage the weekend. Saturday’s game was against Indiana University and the Huskies came out with lots of intensity. UConn fell behind 2-0 early in the first quarter, but found their groove and came back with a 10-0 run, going into halftime with a 10-2 lead. Indiana opened the quarter again with two quick goals to close the lead to 6, but that would be as close as they would get, as UConn went on another 10-0 run to close out the game with a 20-4 win. Junior Zack Rubin had four goals and four assists while Sophomore Kevin Canavan tied a game high with five goals, while adding an assist. Junior Charles Ogalin also had five goals and three assists while Sophomore Mike Horne and Junior Mike Malara added two goals each. Junior Henry Peterson had a goal of his own and two assists, with Senior Karl Hueglin closing out the scoring with a goal. The defense, led by Senior Stephen Kirkwood and Senior goalie Peter Gabriele were able to hold the Hoosiers to 4 goals, their lowest of the season. Peter Gabriele made 8 saves in the game. 
Sunday’s game was much more exciting and much closer than the previous two. The Huskies were able to open up a 2-0 lead early in the first, the lead was cut to 2-1 when a Tennessee pass was tipped by a defender and trickled into the net. The scoring slowed down for a could part of the first, then with .1 seconds left on the clock Zack Rubin ripped a lefty shot and sniped the bottom right corner to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead at the end of the first. Both team’s defenses began to play well, each team allowing only one goal each in the 2nd quarter, giving UConn a 4-2 lead at half. The Volunteers answered quickly in the third quarter, tying the game at four all. The fourth quarter was back and forth, neither team being able to pull away from the other. The Huskies had one last attempt at the end of the fourth to win it, but the shot was wide. Into overtime it went, where Junior middie Derek Flynn won the faceoff and drew a flag to give the Huskies a crucial man-up opportunity. UConn was able to take advantage as Kevin Canavan put home a lefty rip, his fourth of the day, to win the game for the Huskies. Senior Tim Palko also scored for the Huskies, as well as Zack Rubin and Charles Ogalin. Sophomore LSM Jake Bradeen also scored, giving him his second of the season. The defense was also able to play quite well against Tennessee, holding the Volunteers to 2 of 8 on man-up opportunities, two of which were two men down for the Huskies. Peter Gabriele made 11 saves on the day. It capped off a great weekend for the Huskies, giving them great momentum at the start of the season.
The Huskies had been waiting all semester for this tournament to come, and the outcome couldn’t have been much better. The Huskies(2-1) now turn their attention to conference play with a week to prepare for their first PCLL game against Northeastern University at Parsons Field in Boston, MA on April 5th.
