NEW YORK – UConn moves on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating Lafayette in overtime 2-1. They will face the winner of No. 5 Princeton/No. 10 Syracuse on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Storrs, Conn. The game will be live on ESPN+. Old Dominion’s season came to a close after a 4-0 loss to No. 3 Harvard.
No. 4 UConn 2, No. 14 Lafayette 1 (OT)
After a scoreless first half, the third period featured the game’s first two goals. UConn broke through off a penalty corner at the 43:52 mark, as Marlijn Swaan converted with assists from Milou Heuker and Emma Larit to give the Huskies the lead. Lafayette answered less than a minute later at the 44:27 mark with a penalty-corner opportunity of its own. After UConn goalkeeper Natalie McKenna saved Lena Thedrian’s attempt, Laila Pasic found the back of the cage off an assist from Rosalie van Gool to even the score at 1-1.
Lafayette looked to take the lead in the fourth quarter, creating multiple opportunities off penalty corners. Thedrian put three shots toward goal, but McKenna made a save, while the remaining attempts were either blocked or went wide. UConn’s defense held firm through the final period, sending the game into overtime.
The Huskies controlled the overtime period, putting consistent pressure on the Lafayette defense. UConn earned multiple penalty corners and generated several shots, but Kahn made saves on attempts from Heuker, Davidson and Zich, while Freeman added a defensive save to keep the Leopards in the contest. Davidson eventually broke through with the game-winning goal in overtime to give UConn the 2-1 victory.
UConn outshot Lafayette 18-5, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. Davidson recorded five shots, three on goal, while Zich also totaled five shots, all on target. Swaan finished with one shot on goal, which resulted in her goal, while Heuker added a shot on goal and an assist. McKenna finished with two saves, while Kahn recorded seven stops for the Leopards.
No. 16 Old Dominion 0, No. 3 Harvard 4
Harvard broke through in the second quarter at the 16:36 mark, taking a 1-0 lead on a penalty-corner goal from Emily Bronckers. Martha le Huray assisted on the score, which gave the Crimson the advantage heading into halftime.
Old Dominion created opportunities to even the score in the third quarter, earning consecutive penalty corners. Serena Langendoen took a shot on each opportunity, with the first blocked and the second saved by Harvard goalkeeper Linde Burger. The Monarchs continued to pressure in the fourth quarter, but Anna Riesser’s shot off a penalty corner sailed high.
Harvard extended its lead in the fourth quarter when Lara Beekhuis converted a penalty-corner opportunity, with assists from Rosa Kooijmans and le Huray. Sage Piekarski added two late goals, including an empty-net score after Old Dominion pulled goalkeeper Suus Broers and a backhand finish to the far post.
Broers had three saves to keep the Monarchs in the contest, while Burger earned the shutout for Harvard.
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