Liberty Advanced to the Championship Game by beating Providence 4-0.
Round 3: Connecticut v. Liberty for #BIGEASTfh Crown
LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the third straight year, Connecticut will battle Liberty for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship title. The two teams will play Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Liberty Field Hockey Field on the campus of Liberty University.
The game will be broadcast by the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) via the FOX Sports App.
The two teams advanced to the championship game after winning semifinals contests on Friday. No. 1 seed Connecticut defeated fourth-seeded Villanova 9-1 and No. 2 seed Liberty took a 4-0 decision from third-seeded Providence.
Connecticut and Liberty are the BIG EAST’s two ranked teams. The Huskies are fourth in the FHCA national poll and the Lady Flames are 15th.
Last year, UConn beat Liberty 3-0 in Providence, R.I. Two years ago, the Huskies won 3-2 in Philadelphia, Pa. The Lady Flames are 6-3 at home this season and 13-5 overall. Connecticut is 9-0 on away fields and 17-3 overall.
In this year’s regular-season meeting, Connecticut prevailed 6-1 in Storrs, Ct., on Oct. 18.
Both teams had players earn conference awards earlier this week. Liberty’s Agueda Moroni was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Connecticut’s Cecile Pieper won BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors and UConn goalkeeper Cheyenne Sprecher was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Huskies head coach Nancy Stevens and her staff were tabbed BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Stevens has won 17 BIG EAST Championship titles and has guided UConn to three national championships in the last five years. Liberty joined BIG EAST field hockey for the 2016 season and owns a 16-5 record for the three regular seasons while making the championship final each of the past two years. This season, UConn was 7-0 in BIG EAST play and Liberty finished 6-1.