After a well-deserved week of rest, the now No. 10-ranked UConn field hockey team will be in Newark, Delaware to take on No. 24 University of Delaware this Friday at 5 p.m. This will be the third straight ranked opponent the Huskies have faced (all on the road too, mind you), making these past couple weeks quite the gauntlet they’ve run.
The Huskies’ last match, which was against Harvard, demonstrated how much this team can learn from match to match. After an unfortunate 1-0 loss to Rutgers in overtime, UConn chose a much more aggressive offensive approach to combat the Knights. It worked tremendously well, as they netted a goal early in the first quarter and kept the pressure on until they got an insurance score in the fourth. Quick adjustments have kept UConn in the limelight and vaulted them into top-10 status for the first time this season.
As for the Delaware Blue Hens, they come into the meeting at a 1-3 overall record, and an 0-1 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. Despite their No. 17 preseason ranking, they’ve struggled at the beginning of this season. Though they started with an easy 2-0 win over VCU, they’ve slid since, losing three straight against No. 12 Virginia, No. 21 American, and a then-unranked Monmouth, who are now ranked No. 25. That latest loss against the Monmouth Hawks was especially tragic, as they boasted 1-0 and 2-1 leads before giving up the 2-2 equalizer in the 58th minute and then the winning goal in overtime only six minutes later. As far as the Hens are concerned, they’ll be looking to change the tide coming into this match, and they’ll certainly see a UConn win as a worthy prize that would contribute towards righting the ship.
Now onto the upcoming matchup: the Huskies and the Blue Hens have some history, albeit limited. They’ve had three matchups over the past five years, with UConn taking all three. Most recently, the Huskies defeated Delaware by a score of 2-1 a little under year ago on Halloween, 2021. Since both teams have a lot of roster carryover from that very matchup, a close match is a given, regardless of any confidence or momentum either side may think they have.
This Friday’s game will be a good one. The two sides still have quite a lot left to prove, so they’ll be playing with more pressure on themselves. While Delaware will be looking to center themselves and start moving in the right direction this season, UConn would love to have another victory against a ranked team that could move them even higher in the NFHCA rankings, potentially putting them right in the running for a top-5 spot in the country.
