No. 21 Old Dominion topples No. 8 Virginia, 2-1 in overtime.
#BIGEASTfh Minute: ODU, UConn Topple Top 10 Opponents
NEW YORK – Connecticut, Georgetown and Old Dominion continue to maintain unblemished records through the third weekend of play. Both Connecticut and Old Dominion took down National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 10 opponents in No. 8 Virginia and No. 10 Syracuse to enhance their 6-0 records.
The top-ranked Huskies shut out No. 10 Syracuse 3-0 on the road in western New York. Connecticut sophomore goalkeeper Cheyenne Specher made four saves to notch her third shutout of the year. Sophomore Jessica Dembrowski, graduate student Cecile Pieper and junior Svea Boker each scored for UConn. The Huskies and Orange tied for shots, 6-6 (
Full Release). On Friday, Connecticut dominated Massachusetts 8-3 as senior Amanda Collins, junior Svea Boker and freshman Abby Gooderham each scored twice. The Huskies held a 7-2 scoring advantage in the first half, including a 5-0 run to start the game.
No. 21 Old Dominion continued its winning ways as the Monarchs tallied two come-from-behind victories on the road this weekend. At No. 8 Virginia on Sunday, Old Dominion (6-0) overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit with goals from Merle Knobloch and Rebecca Birch, who scored the game-winner in overtime. It marked ODU's first win over a top-10 opponent since 2015. On a rainy day in Charlottesville, Virginia (3-2) used a penalty-corner goal in the final minute of the first half to take a lead into halftime. The Monarchs then turned up the tempo after the break, outshooting the Cavaliers, 12-2, in the second half (
Full Release). However, it wasn't until the 64th minute when ODU finally pulled even. Knobloch, a freshman from Germany, beat a pair of UVA defenders on the endline before firing a shot near-post to tie the game. In overtime, Birch then used a quick restart and a slick cutback to get an open shot from the top of the arc, which she buried past the Cavalier goalkeeper. Cam MacGillivray earned the win in goal for ODU, playing the full 74+ minutes and making seven saves. On Friday, Old Dominion defeated Richmond on the road with the same score. The Monarchs also played down a goal to come back and score two for the win.
Georgetown dominated LIU Brooklyn 7-0, while Providence split the weekend defeating New Hampshire 2-1 but losing to No. 14 Iowa 1-0. Villanova lost to Sacred Heart, 2-1, and Penn, 2-1. Temple also split the weekend with a 3-2 win at Lafayette and a 6-2 loss to Kent State. The winning goal for the Owls came in the 63rd minute, the final penalty corner of the game. It was scored by redshirt senior Maris Stern for Temple’s first win of the season.
Quinnipiac was just edged by No. 19 Maine, 3-2, falling just short of a comeback. Maine scored first in the 22nd minute, before the Bobcats tied it up at 33:50. Before the 40th minute, both Maine and Quinnipiac scored again keeping the game knotted at 2-2. In the 58th minute, Maine scored the game-winner (
Full Release).
No. 15 Liberty had the weekend off. The Lady Flames will be in action against Longwood on Tuesday.
New national rankings will be released on Tuesday with national players of the week coming Wednesday.
BIG EAST play starts this weekend, but the eight teams will continue to play against non-conference opponents through the end of the season.
#BIGEASTfh Weekend Results
Sunday, Sept. 9
Sacred Heart 2, VILLANOVA 1
No. 1 CONNECTICUT 3, No. 10 Syracuse 0
Kent State 6, TEMPLE 2
No. 21 OLD DOMINION 2, No. 8 VIRGINIA 1 (OT)
Saturday, Sept. 8
No. 19 Maine 3, QUINNIPIAC 2
No. 14 Iowa 1, PROVIDENCE 0
Friday, Sept. 7
Penn 2, VILLANOVA 1
No. 1 CONNECTICUT 8, Massachusetts 3
PROVIDENCE 2, New Hampshire 1
No. 21 OLD DOMINION 2, Richmond 1
TEMPLE 3, Lafayette 2
GEORGETOWN 7, LIU Brooklyn 0
Upcoming #BIGEASTfh Schedule
Tuesday, Sept. 11
Longwood at No. 16 LIBERTY, 5 p.m.
All times eastern.
BIG EAST teams in ALL CAPS