The weekend was a mixed bag for the University of Connecticut field hockey team, as they had a convincing 4-0 win on Friday against Providence College, followed up by a disappointing 4-2 loss to No. 9 Princeton on Sunday. Despite going 1-1 through those 2 matches, there are still plenty of positives for UConn to take away from both performances.
The Huskies began their weekend by traveling up to Providence to take on the Friars in a late-afternoon bout. Regardless of the travel and the start time being late in the day, UConn still had their way with Providence, grabbing two quick goals in the first 16 minutes of the match, thanks to a Juana Garcia rebound shot and a McKenna Sergi score via a Julia Bressler cross. Just before the first half ended, Garcia added another goal to make the score 3-0, and then, just minutes into the third quarter, Bressler netted UConn’s killing blow, making the final score 4-0. What made this score such a likely scenario even from the opening push back was the Huskies’ demonstration of their patented aggressiveness that accumulated 14 total shots and 12 shots on goal, while the Friars could only muster six and four, respectively. What also piled it on was UConn’s corner advantage, where they got two in comparison to Providence’s one, showing that the Huskies were effective in whittling away the opposing defense to get their chances in bunches.
After that promising win, UConn looked to take that momentum back to the Sherman Family Complex in Storrs for a match against No. 9 Princeton University. Unfortunately, this contest did not start nearly as well for UConn as their previous one did — the Tigers got their first score before the ten-minute mark off the stick of Zoe Shepard and managed to keep the Husky attack at bay. Then, Princeton showed their strength by scoring just a minute before the half thanks to Talia Schenck with an assist from Grace Schulze. Continuing their drives into opposing territory after halftime, the Tigers earned and scored a penalty stroke, thanks to Sam Davidson. Not even 31 minutes in, the score was 3-0, but UConn didn’t go quietly. The Huskies got a score at the 53 minute mark, thanks to a Madi Herb score from a Sol Simone pass, and another at 59:09, off the stick of Simone and assisted by Claire Jadenwerth. However, before the Huskies could make a real effort for a tie, P-ton’s Claire Donovan netted a final goal just before the 60th minute ended to effectively ice the game. Regardless of the final result, it was impressive to see UConn not back down despite the odds they faced in making it all the way back from a three-goal deficit.
And thus wraps up another eventful weekend of UConn field hockey. With these two matches in their rearview mirror, the Huskies have gotten some really meaningful preparation ahead of what will be their biggest game of the season next weekend: a Sunday showdown with No. 1 University of North Carolina.
I find it very interesting