No. 1 seed Connecticut Defeated No. 4 seed Villanova in the semifinals.
Connecticut, Liberty Advance to Field Hockey Championship Game
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 1 seed Connecticut and No. 2 seed Liberty advanced to the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Game by recording semifinal victories on Friday at the Liberty Field Hockey Field on the campus of Liberty University. Sunday’s Championship game will be played at 1 p.m.
UConn defeated No. 4 seed Villanova 9-1 and Liberty stopped No. 3 seed Providence 4-0. Sunday’s title game between the Huskies and Lady Flames will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network via the FOX Sports App.
The matchup will be the third straight Championship game between UConn and Liberty. The game also will be a battle between the BIG EAST’s two ranked teams. Connecticut is ranked No. 4 nationally and Liberty is No. 15. The Huskies defeated the Lady Flames in the 2016 and 2017 finals.
Connecticut’s nine goals broke the BIG EAST Championship record for most goals in a game. The Huskies broke their own mark of eight set in the 2016 semifinals.
The winner of the last six BIG EAST Championships, UConn controlled play from the start against Villanova. Svea Boker, Maddy Wray and Abby Gooderham each scored two goals for the Huskies, who improved their overall record to 17-3. Boker opened the scoring with a goal at 4:44 on a reverse chip. Gooderham scored both of her goals in the first half. The Huskies led 5-0 at halftime and built a 9-0 advantage in the second half.
Villanova avoided the shutout with a goal by Abby Siana at 62:44. Villanova’s season ended with a 9-10 record. Connecticut outshot Villanova 19-5.
In the second game, Liberty built a 3-0 lead by halftime, then held off a second-half challenge from Providence. Moniek van Aarle gave Liberty an early 1-0 lead with a goal at 3:57. Charlotte Vaanhold and Alivia Klopp added scores in the first half.
The Friars, who finished the season with an 11-8 record, put sustained offensive pressure on Liberty for most of the second half, but could not put the ball past goalkeeper Allison Schaefer. The Lady Flames’ Kemy Meidane added an insurance goal at 66:54.
Liberty outshot Providence 23-12 and held a 12-7 edge in penalty corners.