Field Hockey: No. 2 Field Hockey stays undefeated with two wins on the weekend

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The Huskies kicked off their weekend Friday night with a home tilt against Pacific. UConn kept their undefeated season alive, winning 6-2 on the back of an impressive performance by senior Charlotte Veitner.

UConn trailed for the first time this season, giving up an early goal to Pacific’s Gaby de Kock in the 13th minute. It took nine minutes for the Huskies to tie it back at 1-1. Casey Umstead and Svea Boker both had assists as Veitner would score her first goal of the game. A similar scene in the 28th minute, Umstead again would receive an assist, this time with teammate Amanda Collins, as they connected with a penalty corner to set up Veitner for her second goal of the game, giving UConn a 2-1 lead.

Veitner did not have all of the fun. In the 34th, Amelia Iacobucci connected with the back of the net, being set up by Collins. In the 43rd, Collins was credited with yet another assist, as Veitner would get the hat trick and give UConn a 4-1 lead.

Pacific fought back, scoring off a penalty corner in the 46th minute. Savannah Burns was credited with the goal, and Nthabi Maine and Emma Leach each notched an assist. The Huskies would run away with this one, scoring again in the 54th and the 57th. First, Margot Colenbrander capitalized on a penalty corner and was set up nicely by Antonia Tiedtke and Boker. Then, Veitner would notch her fourth goal of the game, an unassisted rebound off of a penalty corner. This 6-2 score would go final as the Huskies took yet another victory, improving to 4-0 on the season.

Four of the six goals scored by UConn came on penalty corners. The Huskies had a 6-1 advantage in corners during the game.

“We’re happy that we scored on penalty corners and gave up so few. We’ve worked really hard on it. We’re starting to get that connectivity.” Stevens said. “Division I at this level is very intense, the athletes are strong, there’s a lot of body contact. A lot of whistles are blown.”

The second game of the weekend came against 2-1 Harvard on Sunday. Harvard got off to an early start, scoring off Nina Klein in the third minute.

Umstead and Veitner combined for three shots in the next 10 minutes, but all three would be blocked by the Harvard defense. Ultimately, UConn took six penalty corners before scoring in the 19th minute. Collins would be credited with the goal, while Colenbrander would get the assist. Another penalty corner in the 21st minute gave the Huskies the lead. This time, Tori Albright would get the credit, assisted by Colenbrander and Veitner.

Another penalty corner for UConn in the 31st gave Veitner her fifth goal of the weekend and sixth of the season. The half would end with a green card for Iacobucci, followed shortly after by a penalty stroke for Harvard. Klein would save the shot, keeping the lead 3-1 halfway through regulation.

“Up until this game Charlotte only had one goal. She was ready for a breakout role and we knew it was coming. We expect a lot out of Char, and we have a really strong senior class,” Head coach Nancy Stevens explained. “We expect her to perform well every game.”

The second period started off with a green card for Umstead in the 40th, followed shortly by a Green card for Harvard’s Hannah Pearce in the 42nd. Veitner made a wide shot in the 44th, just before Harvard’s Maddie Earle received a yellow card in the 45th.

UConn’s offense wouldn’t let up, with Veitner going wide again in the 48th, then having her shot blocked in the 49th. Barbara Hoogen got two shots off in the 50th, the first missed thanks to a save from Harvard’s Libby Manela, the second was just wide.

Despite the hard fought half on both sides, the 3-1 score would hold as UConn remained undefeated, improving to 5-0 on the season. The Huskies are home Friday afternoon to face off against Old Dominion at the Sherman Family Complex.

Rachel Schaefer is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at rachel.schaefer@uconn.edu.