Field Hockey: Huskies fall to UMass in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 

The UConn field hockey team came up just short against the UMass Minutewomen in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, 2-1. 

The Huskies are the No. 3 overall seed, meaning they played on their home field and hosted the first two rounds of their part of the bracket. 

UConn matched up against UMass in the first round of the tournament, a team they had already seen and defeated earlier in the year. 

The Huskies started the scoring early, as unanimous all-Big East First Team selection and Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Juul Sauer, scored her 13^th goal of the season, assisted by both Julia Bressler and Milou Heuker, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. 

The second and third quarters saw strong defensive efforts from both teams, as neither squad could score, and it remained a 1-0 contest heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Connecticut lead would not last long however, as UMass’ Paula Lorenzini scored just before the 49^th minute, knotting the game up at one. With just over five minutes left in the matchup, the Minutewomen struck again, as Hannah de Gast cashed in on a penalty corner. The Huskies would try to push and pull their goalkeeper in the final few minutes to get an extra offensive player on the field, but the UMass defense wouldn’t crack, and the Huskies fell short. 

The UMass Minutewomen then defeated Harvard on Sunday and advanced to the semifinals, where they will take on the winner of Northwestern and Virginia on Thursday. 

As for the Huskies, their season comes to an end. Following a 2023 campaign where they struggled, finishing 5-13, Connecticut had a massive bounce-back 2024 campaign. 

Finishing the year 17-4, becoming Big East regular season champions, Big East tournament champions and clinching the third overall seed in the national tournament, the Huskies had a very successful season. Connecticut looks to take this momentum into next season and get right back to the NCAA Tournament in their pursuit for their sixth national championship, as they return many of their key players from this past season.