Photo by Emma Rodriguez, Grab Photographer/The Daily Campus
No. 3 University of Connecticut shut out Old Dominion 3-0 on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia, leaning on a clinical second-half surge and a stalwart defense to move to 14-1 overall and finish Big East conference play 5-0.
UConn’s attack controlled tempo in the opening period, generating immediate chances off a penalty corner inserted by Milou Heuker at the 10-minute mark. Monarch goalkeeper Suus Broers kept the match level early, denying consecutive on-target attempts from Faith Everett and Lucy Zich.
Old Dominion (11-5, 2-4 Big East) answered with heavy pressure in the second frame, outshooting the Huskies 6-0 and earning two penalty corners. Huskies’ goalkeeper Natalie McKenna stood tall in the cage, turning away strikes from Sofia Marciano and Serena Langendoen to keep the Monarchs off the board and entered halftime locked in a scoreless draw.
UConn flipped the momentum immediately out of the break. The Huskies, who have scored 24 of their 42 goals this season in the second and third frames, capitalized quickly with two strikes in six minutes to take control.
At 32:39, midfielder Olivia McKenna broke the scoreless tie, burying a feed from Zich for her seventh goal of the season. Zich quickly shifted from playmaker to finisher less than six minutes later, burying a pass from Charlotte Ritter at 38:23 to double the advantage. The assist marked Ritter’s team-leading ninth of the year.
Early in the fourth period, UConn put the contest out of reach off another corner opportunity. After Broers stopped an initial blast from Olivia McKenna, midfielder Lene Reiche cleaned up the loose rebound at 49:19 to net an unassisted goal.
Photo by Emma Rodriguez, Grab Photographer/The Daily Campus
Old Dominion pushed aggressively to break the shutout, earning three corners in the final frame. However, back Marlijn Swaan provided vital goal-line insurance by recording a defensive save against Stella Houghton in the 51st minute, and Natalie McKenna made a final stop with 19 seconds remaining.
Although Old Dominion held a slight 9-8 edge in total shots, UConn was far more efficient, placing seven of its eight attempts on frame. Zich paced the offense with three points, bringing her season totals to 11 goals, six assists and 28 points. She leads the team in all three categories.
The victory pushed UConn’s win streak to 10 games and marked their third consecutive shutout. Natalie McKenna lowered her 0.69 goals-against average by securing her seventh clean sheet of the fall.
With a flawless 5-0 record in conference play, UConn has clinched the regular-season Big East title and secured the No. 1 overall seed for the Big East Field Hockey Championship, set for November. UConn steps out of conference play next, returning to Connecticut to host in-state foe Fairfield for their final game on Friday.