Minutewomen Drop Narrow 1-0 Game To No. 5 UConn

STORRS, Conn. -- No. 14 Massachusetts (12-4, 5-0 A-10) made nine stops on defensive penalty corners, but dropped a narrow 1-0 game to No. 5 UConn (13-2, 4-1 Big East) on Sunday at George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.

The Minutewomen recorded six total shots, five of which came in the second half. Graduate student Paula Lorenzini led Massachusetts with two shots on goal in the matchup. Lorenzini continues to lead the team with 48 shots across 15 games played this season.

Freshman Elani Sherwood also put pressure on the UConn defense in the matchup, recording two shots, including one on goal that nearly broke the 0-0 deadlock late in the third quarter. Seniors Dempsey Campbell and Claire Danahy also tallied a shot on the day.

Junior Myrte van Herwijnen made five saves on the day, all coming in defensive penalty corner situations.

UConn was led by Julia Bressler who converted a penalty stroke for the game's lone goal.

Breaking Down The Action

Massachusetts found themselves in a defensive matchup from the start, making two saves on UConn penalty corner opportunities to keep the score 0-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same as game play was mainly limited to the midfield and neither team was able to record a single shot.
Massachusetts went into the halftime break having successfully defended three UConn penalty corners, holding the score to a 0-0 tie.
The Minutewomen defended a Husky penalty corner and nearly countered with a scoring opportunity of their own but could get the shot off, keeping the score at 0-0 with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Massachusetts weathered yet another UConn penalty corner, deflecting a shot from Juul Sauer wide to keep things level with 4:30 remaining in the third.
The Minutewomen put together two strong scoring opportunities, drawing a pair of penalty corners but the score remained tied 0-0 with 1:55 on the clock in the third.
UConn scored the game's lone goal as Julia Bressler converted a penalty stroke to make it 1-0 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
UMass held strong on back-to-back Husky penalty corners as van Herwijnen made a pair of saves to keep the score 1-0 UConn with 5:54 remaining in regulation.
The Minutewomen drew a penalty corner of their own with 5:26 on the clock, but the shot from Paula Lorenzini was saved, preserving a 1-0 UConn advantage.
Massachusetts pulled the keeper with 4:55 left in regulation but could not find the late game equalizer, falling 1-0 in Storrs.

Notable Numbers

3: Massachusetts drew three penalty corners on the day.
5: Van Herwijnen made five saves on the day, all coming on defensive penalty corners.
6: The Minutewomen tallied six shots on the day, three on goal.
9: Massachusetts stopped all nine UConn penalty corner attempts in the matchup.

Series History

With the result, Massachusetts now holds a 15-40-3 record all-time against the Huskies.

Up Next

The Minutewomen head south to face A-10 foe Richmond on Friday, Oct. 25 at 5 p.m. at Crenshaw Field. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be followed live on umassathletics.com or UMassFH on Twitter.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Elani Sherwood

Paula Lorenzini

Claire Danahy

Dempsey Campbell

Players Mentioned

Dempsey Campbell

Claire Danahy

Paula Lorenzini

Elani Sherwood

Myrte van Herwijnen

Players Mentioned

Dempsey Campbell

Claire Danahy

Paula Lorenzini

Elani Sherwood

Myrte van Herwijnen

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics