UConn junior forward Monica Fleming (left) passes the ball past sophomore forward Casey Umstead during a UConn field hockey game at the Sherman Family Sports Complex in Storrs, Connecticut. (Bailey Wright/The Daily Campus)
UConn field hockey defeated Lafayette College Sunday afternoon with a final score of 8-0. The Huskies have now won 21 games in a row dating back to last season.
Three of the goals scored came from freshman Amanda Collins. The first of her hat trick came at 12:49 on a penalty corner goal. Collins added another goal shortly after following an unsuccessful penalty corner after Collins rebounded a shot. The freshman forward completed her hat trick seven minutes into the second half on a pass from sophomore forward Charlotte Veitner.
“It was really exciting,” Collins said. “I had put a lot of hard work into the preseason and the first couple games to get there.”
This was Collins first time scoring this season.
“I just love playing the game so when I score I don’t even think about the score I’m just excited,” Collins said.
“It was so exciting Amanda Collins had three goals and two assists,” head coach Nancy Stevens said. “So that’s a really good day for a freshman,” Stevens said.
The Huskies scored six total goals in the first half. Two of the six came from Collins. Other goals were scored by junior midfielder Anna Middendorf, freshman forward Amelia Iacobucci, senior midfielder Roisin Upton and sophomore forward Charlotte Veitner on a pass from Collins.
UConn scored twice in the second half. One goal from Collins and another under two minutes left of regulation time from sophomore forward Maureen Schott. Schott scored the final goal of the game on a pass from Collins, giving Collins two assists along with her hat trick.
Following Sunday’s game, Veitner still leads the team in goals scored with a total of 15 this season. The sophomore was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week for the third consecutive week, following her third-straight game with a hat trick last weekend. UConn outshot Lafayette 27-1.
“We expected a competitive game because last year we won 2-1,” Stevens said. “At some level we wish the game would have been tougher but we were just unstoppable today.”
Stevens said she got to put every player in, with the exception of the redshirts, but including both goalkeepers.
“I think we got a lot of out the game and now we’re ready for Stanford and Cal Berkeley,” Stevens said.
UConn will continue its stretch of home games this weekend starting Friday night with Stanford and then Sunday afternoon against the University of California, Berkeley.
Mary Burkhardt is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached at mary.burkhardt@uconn.edu.
