Injury set up Chris Connolly to make historic impact at UMass

Chris Connolly was the first UMass player to eclipse 100 points as a sophomore since 1989. (UMass Athletics)

For Chris Connolly, it took fully abandoning one dream in order for another to eventually take shape.

Growing up, all Connolly (Glastonbury, Conn.) ever wanted to be was a hockey player. As such, his path to becoming one of the most exciting young players in the history of UMass lacrosse was tangled, to say the least.

“I would play the hockey season and then spring would roll around and I would play lacrosse, and then as soon as lacrosse season ended, that was it,” he said. “I would put the stick down, pick up a hockey stick again, play all summer and all the way through hockey season to spring again.

“Playing college hockey was one of my lifelong dreams and, basically, when I got to high school, I was still really focused on playing hockey.