UConn Repeats as Top Contender in BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Poll
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference unveiled the 2017 Field Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll Thursday with the 16-time league champion Connecticut as the overwhelming favorite. The Huskies earned all seven possible first-place votes and swept both major awards – BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Charlotte Veitner and Defensive Player of the Year
Casey Umstead. The BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, major awards and all-conference selections are based on ballot cast by the league’s eight head coaches, who cannot vote for their own teams or student-athletes.
Following Connecticut’s 49 points in the poll were Liberty with 41 points and one first-place vote. Old Dominion (35 points) and Providence (33 points) rounded out the top four. Temple followed in fifth with 25 points, Quinnipiac in sixth with 19, Villanova in seventh with 15 and Georgetown rounded out the preseason polls with seven.
UConn finished the 2016 regular season 18-1, going on to collect its 16th BIG EAST Championship title. Overall, the Huskies finished 22-2, falling to North Carolina in the NCAA Final Four. Since 2013, UConn is 23-1 in BIG EAST play, entering 2017 on an 18-game conference winning streak following last season’s 7-0 mark. The Huskies return two of their leading scorers in Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Veitner and Umstead.
The two-time defending BIG-EAST Offensive Player of the Year, Veitner, concluded the 2016 campaign with a conference-leading 27 goals, 17 assists and 71 points. She averaged 2.96 points (second), 1.13 goals (third) and 0.71 assists (fourth) per game finishing the season ranked in the top five of the NCAA in all three categories.
Aiding Veitner’s efforts from the back, Umstead totaled 51 points on 18 goals and 15 assists last season. The two-time Defensive Player of the Week honoree Umstead aided the UConn defense who allowed a conference-low 1.00 goals per game over seven league contests.
Earning Freshman of the Week honors once last season,
Barbara van den Hoogen joins her senior teammates on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team after tallying 24 points, 10 goals and four assists in 24 games.
In goal, 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection
Nina Klein led the conference in shutouts recorded with six.
Voted second in the league,
Liberty finished the 2016 season with an 8-10 overall record last season and ranked No. 25 in the final RPI rankings. The Lady Flames faced 10 nationally ranked opponents last season, picking up a victory over No. 20 American. Liberty’s attack will be led by a pair of Preseason All-BIG EAST selections,
Abby Julius and
Agueda Moroni.
Closing out the year with a pair of Offensive Player of the Week honors, Moroni, finished the 2016 campaign with 23 points, 10 goals and three assists, while Julius capped off the year with 14 points, five goals and four assists. Moroni was the goals leader in BIG EAST play, notching a league-high eight over seven games played.
Old Dominion edges Providence in the polls by two points after posting a 7-10 overall record in 2016, and 3-4 in BIG EAST play. Representing the Monarchs on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team is
Danielle Grega. The senior forward paced the ODU attack with a team-high seven goals and 15 points.
Providence rounds out the top four after finishing 13-6 last season, including a 5-2 BIG EAST mark, tying Liberty for second place. The Friars have two selections on the preseason all-conference team with
Megan Hamilton and
Floor Rozemeijer.
Entering her senior campaign, Hamilton wrapped up the 2016 season with 13 points, five goals and three assists while being named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. On defense, Rozemeijer earned a pair of Freshman of the Week Honors and was a member of the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Fifth-place
Temple had one selection on the preseason all-conference team with
Rachael Mueller after leading the Owls with 10 goals, including four in league play, and 20 points last season. Temple posted a 7-12 overall record and 3-4 BIG EAST mark in 2016.
Quinnipiac enters its second season in the league after losing the team’s leading scorer with nine goals and 22 points, Savannna Reilly. In their first season of BIG EAST play, the Bobcats went 3-4, and 5-13 overall.
Villanova, the coaches’ seventh-place pick, is led by returning senior
Francesca Bello. The leading scorer for the Wildcats, Bello guided Villanova (5-13, 2-5 BIG EAST) with 8 assists and a team-high nine goals and 26 points last season.
Georgetown (5-13, 0-7 BIG EAST) will look to improve on its 2016 campaign, with a quartet of newcomers, Emily Fraser, Cani Osborne, Jax van der Veen and Neil van Shaack, hoping to make immediate impacts as freshmen.
The field hockey season gets underway on Aug. 25 when seven of the league’s eight teams open their 2017 campaign that Friday.
Conference play begins on Sept. 15 with three BIG EAST matchups taking place.
The BIG EAST Championship is slated for Nov. 3 and 5 at Providence’s Lennon Family Field with the top four seeds qualifying. The semifinals and finals will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
BIG EAST Field Hockey Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Connecticut, 49 (7)
2. Liberty, 41 (1)
3. Old Dominion, 35
4. Providence, 33
5. Temple, 25
6. Quinnipiac, 19
7. Villanova, 15
8. Georgetown, 7
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Charlotte Veitner, Connecticut, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Casey Umstead, Connecticut, Sr., D
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Francesca Bello, Villanova, Sr., F
Danielle Grega, Old Dominion, Sr., F *
Megan Hamilton, Providence, Sr., F/M
Barbara van den Hoogen, Connecticut, So., M
Abby Julius, Liberty, Jr., M *
Nina Klein, Connecticut, Sr., GK
Agueda Moroni, Liberty, So., M
Rachael Mueller, Temple, Sr., M
Floor Rozemeijer, Providence, So., D
Casey Umstead, Connecticut, Sr., D *
Charlotte Veitner, Connecticut, Sr., F *
*unanimous selection