STORRS, Conn. (April 5, 2007) - Shannon Burke (Camillus, N.Y.) had four goals and four assists as the No. 18 nationally-ranked University of Connecticut women's lacrosse team defeated Boston College, 17-12, Thursday afternoon at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. Burke's eight points on the day propelled her atop the all-time UConn scoring ranks with 205 points over the last four years.

The previous record was held by All-American Tracy Mullaney who tallied 203 points from 2002-2005. Earlier this season, Burke broke the record for career assists, of which she now has 79, including 34 during the 2007 season (also a record).

With the win, the Huskies improve to 7-4 on the year, while the Eagles dip to 4-7 on the season.

Kristin Link (Slingerlands, N.Y.) joined Burke as a four-goal scorer, while Janet Williams (Reisterstown, Md.) and Kim McGinty (Hungtington, N.Y.) each added three to propel UConn's attack. On the other end of the field, Clare Schwan (Albany, N.Y.) and Katy Ryan were stellar on defense, causing four and three turnovers, respectively. Anchoring the backfield was goalie Jenna Moulton (East Rochester, N.Y.), who finished the day with 11 saves.

McGinty opened scoring at the 27:45 mark as the Huskies jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead over the first 11:33 of the first half. Boston College cut the lead to two at 4-2 before Burke rattled off back-to-back-to-back tallies to put UConn on top 7-2 with 6:20 to play in the period.

Bolstered by two goals from Lauren Costello, the Eagles went on a run of their own, scoring five of the next six goals to pull within one, 8-7, with 1:15 to play. After a free position goal from Link at the :46 mark, the teams headed into halftime with a 9-7 score in favor of UConn.

The Huskies, who came out of the half with the lead for the seventh time this season, opened up a 12-8 lead with the help of two goals from Williams, who scored all three of her three tallies in the second period. The Eagles continued to chip away on the lead, but after McGinty scored off an assist from Laura Trzasko (Plainsboro, N.J.) to make the score 13-9, Boston College was unable to get closer than four the rest of the day.

UConn returns to action Saturday at noon against Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J. The Scarlet Knights are currently 7-9 on the season with a 1-4 mark in the BIG EAST.

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Storrs, Conn.-Junior Shauna Culhane led the Boston College women's lacrosse team with three goals Thursday afternoon against 18th-ranked Connecticut, but the Eagles fell, 17-12, in their fourth-straight loss. The decision drops Boston College to 4-7 on the season.

Senior Elizabeth Kadison extended her point-scoring streak to 11 games with a goal and an assist. Two freshmen-Sarah Sedgwick and Lauren Costello-both contributed to the boxscore with two goals and an assist each. Sophomores Margot Spatola and Emily Hannigan chipped in with a goal each to finish the scoring.

The Huskies opened up the game with a four-goal run in the first 13 minutes. Culhane netted her first goal at 16:19, and Sedgwick cut the UConn lead in half, 4-2, at 13:18. UConn's Shannon Burke reeled off three consecutive tallies before the Eagles matched that, plus one, with four goals to come within one of the home team. The Huskies tacked on one more goal in the final minute of the half to lead, 9-7, at the intermission.

In the second half, each time Boston College tried to begin a rally, the Huskies answered right back. Culhane netted her third and final goal at 15:48, but Kim McGinty hit the back of the net just 20 seconds later. With two more goals, the Huskies had their largest lead of the game, 15-9. Three of the final five goals went the Eagles' way to finish the game's scoring.

Sophomore Katie Monaghan started in net for the Eagles and played 58:23, making 7 saves. Junior Courtney Zwirko subbed in for 1:37, allowing one goal.

The Eagles return to Newton for a three-game home stand before the ACC Championships. Boston College hosts Marist on Saturday, April 7 at 3:00 p.m. before welcoming Duke on Saturday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m.

2007-04-05