The UConn field hockey team found themselves back in the national polls, coming in at No. 16 after starting off the season unranked. Traveling to Providence, R.I. on Thursday to take on the Brown Bears at Goldberg Family Field, the Huskies were looking to improve to 5-0 and match the amount of wins they totaled a season ago.
The Huskies found themselves in a dog fight in the first quarter, as Brown had been able to keep them from scoring. This, however, would not last long, as halfway through the second quarter, graduate student Lila Browne found freshman forward Sophie Perschk for the goal, giving the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. Perschk’s goal would be the lone goal in the quarter, as the Bears were not able to take a shot for over the entire fifteen minutes due to the Huskies’ stellar defense.
The third quarter was more of the same. While Brown was able to get a shot off, it was not able to get into the net. As for the Huskies, freshman Juul Sauer was able to hit her senior teammate Madi Herb, leading to a Herb goal and the Huskies expanding their lead to two.
With the game still in reach, Connecticut firmly put it away in the fourth. Just after the 53-minute mark, freshman Milou Heuker assisted Perschk, giving the Huskies a strong 3-0 lead and Perschk her second goal of the day. Perschk wasn’t done yet, as with just 45 seconds remaining in the game, she scored her third goal of the game, assisted by juniors Sol Simone and Juana Garcia, giving herself a hat trick and the Huskies a strong 4-0 lead with no time left on the clock and making a strong push to win Big East Freshman of the Week yet again.
UConn dominated the Brown Bears from the second quarter on, as the Huskies were able to take nine shots to the Bears’ six. While the Bears took six shots, only two were on goal and both were saved. As for the Huskies, of their nine shots, five were on goal and four snuck past the goalie.
As the Huskies improve to 5-0, they will be challenged on Sunday when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on the No. 7 Harvard Crimson, where they will be looking to continue their impressive start and win their third game over a top 15 team in the country and their second over a team inside the top 10.