The UConn field hockey team was swept in their weekend homestand, losing to two ESPN top 20-ranked opponents. The Huskies, who came into the weekend with a 3-2 record, fell in overtime against No. 18 Rutgers on Friday afternoon 2-3, and were shutout on Sunday against No. 8-ranked Harvard, 0-2.
After a first quarter score by Harvard sophomore Sophie Kuiper, both team’s offenses went quiet until senior captain Julia Bressler netted a penalty corner attempt with just 18 seconds left in the third for UConn’s first goal of the game, evening the score at one.
Sol Simone, who gave the Huskies a standout defensive performance in their home opener against Brown, was heavily involved in UConn’s offensive attack against the Scarlet Knights. The senior midfielder scored the second of the Huskies’ two goals, taking the ball herself all the way from the midline stripe. Simone also assisted Bressler on UConn’s first goal. Both UConn goals were scored within two minutes of each other.
Looking for their second straight win, UConn had held Rutgers scoreless for 40 minutes and were under six minutes away from sealing the victory when freshman midfielder Olivia de Zwaan took put one in unassisted to knot the score at two. The score would remain there for the rest of regulation as the match went into overtime. UConn goalie Natalie McKenna made a save on a shot on goal, one of seven on the day, three minutes in to keep the game alive for UConn. That would be short-lived, as Rutgers would walk it off on a penalty corner goal from graduate student back Puck Winter, assisted by Kuiper. UConn did not get a shot off in overtime. The loss was UConn’s second overtime defeat of the season, having previously falling to St. Josephs in penalty strokes in their second game of the season.
The Huskies came into Sunday looking to rebound from their disappointing loss on Friday, but it was all Harvard from the opening minutes of the game. Just minutes into the opening period, Harvard junior forward Sage Piekarski handled a rebound off a kick save from McKenna and put the reverse shot in the net for the game’s first goal. Harvard’s lead would hold for the rest of the contest, as UConn struggled to get anything going offensively. Harvard would net another with less than three minutes to go, as Piekarski assisted sophomore midfielder Martha le Huray on a close-range goal to bring the final score to 2-0.
The UConn offense didn’t provide much work for Harvard’s Linde Burger, as the rookie goalie only saw four shots on goal and saved each one. For the Huskies, McKenna saw double the shots on net with eight Harvard attempts and saved six. Piekarski’s goal in the first represented the second time in their last three games that UConn has allowed a goal within the game’s first two minutes.
Connecticut, who came into the weekend ranked No. 16 in the nation, will be on the road next weekend looking to get their record back over .500. They will start their weekend by seeing their first divisional opponent in the Villanova Wildcats and will finish the trip with a face off against No. 11 Princeton.