UConn field hockey steps onto Old Dominion’s turf today needing one win to complete its first perfect Big East regular season since 2017. Standing squarely in the way, looking to spoil the feat, is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the country.
A victory over Old Dominion (11-3) would secure the Huskies’ 12th undefeated conference season in program history, and their first under head coach Paul Caddy, who took over in 2020.
UConn has won nine straight games, with its only blemish on the season dating way back to Sept. 6 when it fell 1-0 to Harvard. Now sitting at 12-1, the Huskies remain unbeaten at home and have racked up five ranked wins.
Connecticut held on to its No. 3 spot in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll after sweeping a two-game road trip, where it blanked both Georgetown and Cornell with identical 2-0 victories. The win over the Hoyas was monumental, clinching the program’s 21st Big East regular season title.
Junior defender Fien Hollander took home the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Huskies’ defensive unit to dominant back-to-back shutout performances where neither opponent was able to get off a single shot on goal.
UConn will desperately need that defensive performance to carry over to today’s match against Serena Langendoen and Old Dominion.
Langendoen is a junior defender for the Monarchs, yet ironically is the reigning Big East Offensive Player of the week and one of the most potent offensive weapons in the country.
Langendoen is amidst a career year and is coming off her first hat trick of the season and the second of her career, lifting her squad to a 4-3 overtime win against Richmond last Sunday. Her game-winning goal in overtime marked her fifth of the season, which is good for the Big East lead. Langendoen also leads the conference in goals (15), points (35), shots (69) and shots on goal (36).
Needless to say, Langendoen will be the most talented offensive player the Huskies have faced all season. She is the only player in the Big East and one of just five in the country that is averaging more than a goal per game. Nationally, she ranks fourth in goals per game (1.07) and fifth in points per game (2.50).
With conference perfection on the line, UConn needs to pass a major defensive exam and shut down the nation’s fourth-leading scorer.
The Huskies are capable of doing so. Caddy’s squad has had three shutouts in a row, totaling five on the season. The last time UConn conceded a goal was on Oct. 4 against then-No. 3 University of Massachusetts, who scored at the 40-minute mark, meaning the Huskies have lasted 200 minutes of play and counting without allowing a goal.
Credit senior goalkeeper Natalie McKenna, who ranks sixth in the country in goals against average (.749) and has conceded just 11 goals in 13 games. McKenna has only given up multiple goals twice this season, allowing three to Rutgers on Sept. 13 and two to Liberty on Sept. 25.
There is enough track record that suggests the defense should be there for the Huskies. It’s just a matter of where and when they can find their offensive advantage, and it will likely be the only way they know how: penalty corners.
UConn is 16th in the nation in penalty corners per game (7.08) with a season total of 23. The squad has taken 92 penalty corners thus far and has 32 goals on the year, meaning the Huskies are scoring on exactly a quarter of their penalty corner attempts to make up 73% of their goals this season.
The recipe for the win has been identified for weeks now and is simple. Like it’s done 11 times this season, UConn needs to allow one or fewer goals. At the same time, the Huskies should aim to reach their season average of seven penalty corner attempts per game and continue to execute their set pieces to convert multiple of them.
UConn can rest assured that history is on its side. The Huskies lead the all-time series and are 16-2 against the Monarchs since their arrival to the Big East in 2013.
In the program’s most recent meeting, UConn clobbered Old Dominion 4-1 to advance to the Big East Field Hockey Championship last November. Hollander and sophomore forward Abby Davidson scored the third and fourth goals in that match, respectively.
UConn is set for a 3 p.m. start time today at L.R. Hill Sports Complex on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.