Huskies End Losing Streak With Senior's Help

By Mike Northup The Daily Campus

April 6, 2007

Storrs, CT (CSTV U-WIRE) -- The No. 18 Huskies said goodbye to their three-game slide and along the way got a new all-time career points leader in their 17-12 victory over Boston College at the Sherman Complex Thursday.

The Huskies (6-4) win was the first since March 14 against Harvard. With the loss, the Eagles (4-7) have now dropped four straight.

Head coach Megan Cersosimo expressed quite a bit of satisfaction after the victory.

"It felt great," Cersosimo said. "A win is a win, let's put it that way. We were very happy to get back on track today."

Midfielder Shannon Burke led all scorers with 8 points on the day on 4 goals and 4 assists. With those points, Burke moved into first all-time in UConn history for most career points with 205, eclipsing the old record of 203 set by former All-American Tracy Mullaney from 2002-2005. With 60 points on the year, Burke now sits just one point short of tying the school-record for most points in one season, also set by Mullaney in 2005.

"We couldn't be more proud or happy for her [setting the school record]," Cersosimo said.

So much of Burke's success this year has been the result of the rest of the offense stepping up their game - something Cersosimo made sure to point out - as Burke has a team-high and school-record 34 assists on the season.

"Shannon is playing very smart right now, and so are her teammates," Cersosimo said. "She obviously had four assists today, so four people had to be open for her to be able to assist to them. So really, our attack is playing a complete game. It's not just her scoring goals - she's really setting other people up, and she's seeing the ball really well and seeing the attack well."

Staying true to form, the rest of the Husky offense certainly did their share to ensure the win. Attacker Kristin Link matched Burke with 4 goals, while Janet Williams and Kim McGinty each scored 3. Laura Tzrasko also had a strong performance with 2 goals and 3 assists.

The defense was another big reason for the win, as Clare Schwan caused 4 turnovers while Katy Ryan caused 3 of her own.

In goal, Jenna Moulton had a solid outing, collecting 11 saves on the day.

While BC fought back in the first half to make things interesting - rallying from a 7-2 deficit to make it 8-7 in the closing minutes, they were never really in the game as UConn took the early lead and held on all game.

UConn, in search of their first in-conference win of the year, is slated to take on No. 17 Rutgers (9-2, 1-1 Big East) in Piscataway, N.J. Saturday. To get that elusive first Big East win this season, they will have to slow down a red-hot Scarlet Knights team that is tied with Notre Dame for the best overall record in the Big East. The game will play a major role in positioning in the Big East standings, which will become crucial as the inaugural Big East Tournament nears.

Cersosimo emphasized attitude and intelligence as the keys for success in the Huskies' next match.

"It's going to take heart, and hustle, and possessions, and being very smart," Cersosimo said. "The major thing is for us to play a team game. We are our best when we play as a team."

So far, Rutgers has only dropped a 19-10 decision against No. 9 Princeton, and more recently, a 9-3 game against No. 7 Georgetown. Aside from that, it has been relatively smooth sailing for the Scarlet Knights, who have won six of their last seven decisions on the year.

A big part of Rutgers' success is due to their balanced offensive attack. Armed with four players with 20 or more points, and six players with double-digit goal totals, the Scarlet Knights, much like the Huskies, have no shortage of options on offense. In eight out of their nine wins this year five or more players have scored a goal for Rutgers - another testament to their balanced approach on offense.

Going into the game, coach Cersosimo's confidence in the team has not wavered one bit from where it has stood all season.

"I just think that we're back on track and we're ready to go," Cersosimo said. "And this team is able to do anything."