The University of Connecticut’s Field Hockey team kicked their season off this past Friday and one thing is for s: they did not disappoint. The Huskies were able to take a hard-fought win in overtime the University of Saint Joseph’s. With UConn coming into the season unranked and knocking off a team ranked No. 13 in the country, this is a massive upset, proving that UConn has a case to be a top 25 program.
Throughout the game, both teams were able to take shots at each other. Saint Joseph’s had 14 shots in total and 10 on goal while UConn had 10 shots in total and eight on goal. Right out of the gate from the assist by No. 9 Milaw Clause, No. 4 Juul Sauer was able to take the shot and put it into the back of the net for the first goal of the season. This allowed the Huskies to put the pressure on Saint Joseph’s quickly, but this did not stop them from coming back and responding with a goal of their own in the 21st minute.
After that goal, the Huskies were able to bounce back. With eight seconds left in the first half, the ball was passed around in the shooting circle and with one second to spare from the assist by No. 5 Madi Herb, No. 29 Sophia Ugo was able to put it into the back of the net for a buzzer beater. This ended the second half with a lot of momentum for the Huskies. No. 23 Juana Garcia scored the third goal in the third quarter. This wouldn’t have been a goal if it hadn’t been for No. 5 Herb with the incredible hustle of making sure the ball stayed in with inches of it being almost out. This would be Herb’s second assist of the game. During a corner, the ball was passed to No. 7 Olivia McKenna, who was able to control it quickly and pass it off to Sauer. Sauer, with a good amount of time, was able to take a shot and put it in for her second goal of the game.
Unfortunately, even though Connecticut had pressure on the Hawks for the entire game, things did not go to plan in the back half of the third and fourth quarter. Connecticut let off the gas a little bit and allowed three goals to go in which forced the game to go into overtime. This did not stop UConn from winning the game. With 2 minutes and 44 seconds left, freshman Milaw Clause was able to dribble the ball into the shooting circle pass it to Ugo who was able to tap it in to give the Huskies the win. This was Clause’s second assist and Ugo’s second goal of the game.
After watching this game, one thing is for sure: the freshman forward Sauer, made her presence known immediately. Sauer was able to put up five shots, four on goal and was able to end the game with two scores. With an impressive start to the season, she has shown the value she can bring to a program like UConn, and this is just the start of hearing Sauer’s name. Another player who had a great game was Ugo. After coming off the bench, she was able to put up two shots for two goals.
Without a doubt, both offenses came into this game very strong. Even though Saint Joseph’s was not able to score until the second quarter, they still were able to put up five shots within the first quarter. The goalkeeper No. 1 Natalie McKenna was able to save four out of the five shots that were taken. If it was not for Mckenna’s outstanding performance in the first quarter this game could have looked a lot different. Saint Joseph’s could have been up 5 to 1 in the first quarter, and from how the rest of the game played out, that would have been the end of the game right there.
The Huskies will be staying home on Friday September 6 where they will be facing Cornell University who will be just kicking off their season.