After a stretch of road games the past two weekends, the Huskies were looking forward to returning to Storrs for another set of pivotal games, one against Georgetown and the other against the No. 20 Delaware.
Entering this weekend, the Huskies hoped to continue their winning streak after a win last Sunday against the Princeton Tigers, looking to turn their year around.
Friday’s game against Georgetown had a slow first quarter offensively. Although the Huskies gained nine shots, with six on goal, the game quickly revved up in the second quarter. Junior Madi Herb put the Huskies on the board before the start of the half with a rebound goal against the Hoyas.
Connecticut started the second half of the game with a goal from sophomore Sol Simone, and in the final quarter, they polished off their win with a set of goals from grad student Julianna Kratz, her first two of the season.
The Huskies shut out the Hoyas 3-0, outshooting them 29-4, showing their strengths in all aspects of the game. Freshman goaltender Natalie McKenna stopped two shots on defense throughout the entire matchup. The offense was the main star of the show, with 21 of those shots being on goal, preventing the need to defend against the Hoyas on the other side of the field.
“We want to be on offense as much as we possibly can and to try and restrict their opportunities to attack and counterattack.” Coach Paul Caddy said of the depth of UConn’s defense and their sustained ability to stop Georgetown’s offense.
Connecticut remains undefeated against Georgetown since both programs first played in 1972. On Sunday, the Huskies looked to continue their win-streak, this time facing Delaware. Sunday’s matchup also marked the 10-year anniversary since UConn won the 2013 Field Hockey Championship by a score of 4-0 over Duke.
It was a tough start for the Huskies as Delaware quickly scored three minutes into the game. Despite this, UConn regained their momentum in the first half with a goal from Kratz, adding to her two-game goal streak.
The Bressler sisters were able to solidify this incredible win with a goal from sophomore Belle Bressler in the fourth quarter and a follow-up goal from grad student Julia Bressler. UConn finished Sunday’s 3-1 win by outshooting Delaware 22-6, marking the third loss in a row for the Blue Hens.
With their current three-game win streak, Connecticut has a record of 4-6 at the midway point of their season. In comparison to this point last year, the Huskies were on the opposite end of the spectrum with a record of 6-2.
The team will face tougher opponents in the second half of their season with nationally ranked teams such as No. 9 Liberty on Oct. 20 and No. 5 Duke on Oct. 22.
With such a young team, it has certainly been a tough year for them. These three games will give them the confidence they need as they progress toward playoff contention and a push for the coveted Big East Championship.
Hoping to increase their winning streak to four, the Huskies have two crucial Big East conference games this coming weekend against members of the top three. They will travel to Philadelphia for a battle against Villanova on Friday at 4 p.m. Then, they’ll return to Connecticut for a Sunday afternoon game at 3 p.m. in Hamden against Quinnipiac.
