After a competitive weekend that featured a series split with Villanova, the Huskies look to bounce back at home against Big East foe Georgetown. UConn is currently tied for second in the Big East with the Hoyas, trailing only conference powerhouse Denver.
Georgetown has had some success in conference this season, with a 5-3 Big East record to go along with their 6-7 overall record. Their best pair of wins came in a weekend series against Villanova, where they outscored the Wildcats 37-19.
The Hoyas employ a three-headed monster attack, from the sticks of Kylie Hazen, Michaela Bruno and Natalia Lynch, who have 28, 27 and 25 goals, respectively. They also lead the team in points by a sizable margin. Alyssa Conklin and the rest of the Husky defense will have their work cut out for them holding off these three all weekend.
The Huskies are led by leading goal scorer Sydney Watson, who has a whopping 48 goals on the year. This puts her at eighth-most in the entire country. She is also eighth in draw controls per game. UConn’s point leader is Lia Laprise, who has 26 goals and 33 assists to make 59 points so far this season. She is currently tied for fifth in the nation in assists and 15th in total points.
One of the many pleasant surprises this season for the Huskies is the emergence of junior Grace Coon, who leads the team in goals over the past two games with 10. Sophomore Landyn White has seen success over the past weekend as well, with 17 saves to her name. If UConn wants to claim sole possession of second place this weekend, they need these two to stay hot.
Something UConn has done a tremendous job of is their free position defense. In 50 free position attempts this season, they have allowed only 16 goals, an average of 0.320. Meanwhile, Georgetown’s free position offense is fairly good, having scored 41 free position goals. If the games get close, this crucial free position matchup could be the deciding factor.
Despite dropping three of their last four contests, the Huskies are still well positioned for the postseason. The team is currently ranked 34th overall according to RPI, the second-highest-ranked team in the Big East. They are enjoying one of their best starts in quite a few years, and have proven they can stay competitive with teams like UMass (1-1) and Denver (0-2 with an OT loss). While Denver will be the favorite to win the Big East tournament, UConn is ready to shock the conference. They hope to build up some momentum this weekend at Morrone Stadium.
