WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 2021 BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by JEEP commenced on Thursday at Georgetown’s Cooper Field with higher seeds prevailing in the Semifinal round. No. 1 seed Denver defeated No. 4 seed Villanova, 16-9, in the day’s first contest, before No. 2 seed UConn eliminated the reigning champions and third-seeded Georgetown, 15-13, in the nightcap. The Pioneers and Huskies advance to Saturday’s title game, set for noon ET on FS2. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.
 
It marks the first time since 2014 that the tournament’s top two seeds both advanced and just the fifth time in BIG EAST Championship history that the final will be a 1 vs. 2 affair. Denver is advancing to the final for the fourth consecutive year, while UConn is making its second title game appearance and first since 2015. Neither team has won the BIG EAST Championship before. The Pioneers are 5-0 all-time against the Huskies, including a sweep of this season’s meetings in Storrs, Conn., 14-13 OT and 11-7. They have never met in the BIG EAST Championship.
 
No. 1 seed Denver 16, No. 4 seed Villanova 9 | Highlights
The top-seeded Pioneers used a strong second half to pull away from fourth-seeded Villanova and advance to their fourth straight BIG EAST Championship Final. Denver’s Hannah Liddy and Eliza Radochonski tied for the game high with seven points apiece, with Radochonski’s six goals leading all scorers. Denver outscored Villanova 8-4 in the second half, including hat tricks over the final 30 minutes for both Radochonski and BIG EAST Attacker of the Year Bea Behrins.
 
Villanova and Denver traded goals early, with the Wildcats leading 4-3 with under 12 minutes to play in the opening half. Brittany Bruno provided the spark for Villanova, scoring three first-half goals to help the Wildcats stay close with the 15^th-ranked Pioneers. Bruno finished with five points on the afternoon, adding two assists in the second half. After trailing 4-3 with 11:23 left in the first, Denver scored seven of the next eight goals to lead 10-5 with 24:31 left in the contest. Caroline Curnal ended the Pioneer run, scoring her second of three goals on the afternoon for Villanova, but Denver responded again with a run of four of the next five scores. Curnal added six draw controls to tie teammate Sydney Frank for the game high. The Wildcats got no closer than six the rest of the way.
 
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Amelia Cole finished with nine saves for Denver, while Alexa Moro made six stops for Villanova. The Wildcats held the advantage in ground balls (19-16) and draw controls (17-10), while the Pioneers won the turnover battle (14-20) and outshot Villanova 30-26. Denver advances to its fourth consecutive BIG EAST Championship final and eyes its first conference postseason crown after finishing runner-up in three consecutive tournaments, including 2019’s double-overtime setback to No. 3 seed Georgetown.
 
No. 2 seed UConn 15, No. 3 seed Georgetown 13 | Highlights
A game of runs ended in favor of the second-seeded Huskies, who advance to their second BIG EAST Championship final and first since 2015. Lia LaPrise and BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Sydney Watson combined for nine of UConn’s 15 goals, with Watson providing what proved to be the game winner with just under seven minutes to play. In addition to her four goals, Watson added a game-high 11 draw controls.
 
The host Hoyas jumped out to a 4-1 lead six minutes into the contest, with four different Georgetown players scoring during that stretch. UConn responded with three-straight scores, including goals by LaPrise and Watson, tying the contest with just over seven minutes to go in the opening half. GU added two more goals before Watson narrowed the deficit to one, 6-5, with 26 seconds left in the first. Watson’s goal in the closing moments of the first half started a 4-0 UConn run and 8-1 scoring stretch for the Huskies, which lasted until just under 20 minutes to play in the contest. In the midst of that stretch, UConn took its first lead of the game, 7-6 with 27:25 left, and never trailed again, despite a late run by the Hoyas.
 
Trailing 12-7, Georgetown scored four straight, including two of Mary Pagano’s three goals on the night, to make it a 12-11 contest. Momentum seemed to be in favor of the Hoyas and it looked like they were going to get the ball back as the shot clock ticked down for UConn, but Grace Coon bumped the Huskies’ lead back up to two, 13-11, scoring with just four seconds left on the shot clock. Watson stretched the lead to three, 14-11, scoring what proved to be the game winner with 6:49 remaining. Georgetown scored two of the final three goals to get within two, but the Huskies managed to eat up the final 2:45 of the clock to secure the win. Natalia Lynch had a Georgetown-best five points off two goals and three assists, while Ali Diamond added four points (3g, 1a). Landyn White finished with nine saves for UConn while Emily Gaven had seven stops for the Hoyas. Georgetown's Liza Liotta had a game-high three caused turnovers.

Then-No. 3 seed UConn fell to No. 1 seed Florida, 20-6, in the Huskies’ previous BIG EAST title game appearance in 2015.
 
BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Championship 
Presented By JEEP
Cooper Field – Washington, D.C.
Semifinals – May 6  –  BEDN
No. 1 Denver 16, No. 4 Villanova 9
No. 2 UConn 15, No. 3 Georgetown 13
Final – May 8 –  FS2
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Denver, Noon ET
 
In accordance with Washington, D.C. regulations which limit the size of in-person gatherings, fans will be not permitted to attend this year’s event. For more on the BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by JEEP, visit Championship Central HERE.