#BIGEASTfh Minute – Playoff Berths At Stake In Week 5
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Presented by Jeep is only a few short weeks away. With four games done, Connecticut, Liberty and Old Dominion could potentially clinch playoff berths this Friday. At 4-0, Connecticut needs just one win to qualify.
Liberty (3-1) and Old Dominion (3-1) are not masters of their own destinies for Friday. Both teams will need the other to win and come out of Friday with a 4-1 BIG EAST record. Additionally, Liberty and Old Dominion also need Connecticut and Providence to win.
Villanova, Temple, Georgetown and Quinnipiac are all tied for fifth in the league standings at 1-3.
Potentially, three of the four qualifying teams could be decided after Friday’s contests.
Huskies Remain Undefeated In League Action
Connecticut has won 36 consecutive regular-season conference contests, leading off this season with a 5-0 win over Quinnipiac, then defeating No. 22 Old Dominion, 6-2, in Week 2 and Temple, 5-0 in Week 3. The Huskies last loss in BIG EAST play was on Oct. 25, 2013 at Old Dominion. Connecticut lost 5-0. The Monarchs were ranked 10th nationally. The Huskies were ranked No. 4.
RPI Report - Week 4
BIG EAST field hockey continues to hold a league RPI of 3 in the NCAA RPI report released on Oct. 14. Connecticut, ranked third in the NFHCA national rankings, ranks third in the RPI behind North Carolina and Maryland. Old Dominion moved up from 20 to 14, Liberty is 20th. Providence moved up to No. 21. For the rest of the league, Temple is 46th, Villanova is 51st, Georgetown 59th and Quinnipiac 61st.
Four BIG EAST Teams Ranked
Connecticut, Liberty and Old Dominion hold tight to the similar positions in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) rankings this week. UConn is No. 3 for the second consecutive week, Liberty is No. 17 and Old Dominion moved up to No. 19 after being ranked 22nd for the last four weeks. Old Dominion defeated Liberty last week, 3-2, in the battle of two ranked BIG EAST teams. Providence moved up into the rankings this week at No. 25.
Connecticut defeated Old Dominion 6-2 on Sept. 27. The Friars held the Huskies to just three goals in last Friday’s meeting.
Connecticut’s Sprecher Earns National Attention, NCAA Stats Leader
Connecticut keeper Cheyenne Sprecher earned her third NFHCA Defensive Player of the Week accolade on Wednesday after being named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Sprecher posted two shutouts last week with 12 saves. Sprecher is the NCAA’s statistical leader in save percentage (0.867). The Huskies also lead the country by the same statistic.
The Weekend Ahead
The second half of the season starts Friday with No. 17 Liberty at Georgetown at 1 p.m. Georgetown’s last win came against La Salle on Sept. 22. Last weekend, the Hoyas lost two overtime contests, to Temple and at Towson. Georgetown’s lone league win is against Villanova. The Hoyas lost 2-1 at Saint Francis on Tuesday. Liberty lost its first BIG EAST game this season on Friday against then-No. 22 Old Dominion. Liberty bounced back with a 3-0 win over Longwood. On Sunday, the Lady Flames will face the top-ranked team in the NFHCA in North Carolina. The game against the Tar Heels is at Chapel Hill.
At 3 p.m., No. 3 Connecticut will look to continue its BIG EAST winning streak against Villanova and hope to clinch the first playoff spot of the season. The Huskies are coming off back-to-back wins last weekend against Providence, 3-0, and No. 10 Delaware. The Friars moved into the rankings this week at No. 25. Villanova has won their last three games, with a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac and an 8-3 in over La Salle last weekend and a 3-2 overtime win against Bucknell the week prior. In non-conference action on Sunday, Connecticut will host No. 15 Syracuse and Villanova will host No. 24 Fairfield.
Temple and No. 19 Old Dominion will square off at 5 p.m. in Virginia. Old Dominion is coming off a 1-1 weekend with a 3-2 win over then-No. 15 Liberty and a 1-0 loss to No. 4 Duke. Temple earned their first BIG EAST win last weekend, 2-1 in overtime against Georgetown. The Owls lost on Sunday at Lafayette, 1-0 also in overtime. This weekend, Temple will also play at Towson. Old Dominion will have a rest day on Sunday.
At 6 p.m., No. 25 Providence will host Quinnipiac. The Friars entered the national rankings this week after winning three of their last four, with the only loss coming to No. 3 Connecticut. Of the five Friar losses this season, only one was against a non-ranked team in Fairfield. The Stags are currently ranked No. 24. Providence holds the fourth-place spot in the league rankings currently at 2-2. Quinnipiac head coach Becca Main is looking for career win No. 200 against Villanova. The Bobcats will host Yale on Sunday, while Providence hosts Merrimack.
#BIGEASTfh Weekend Schedule
Friday, Oct. 18
#17 LIBERTY at GEORGETOWN, 1 p.m.
#3 CONNECTICUT at VILLANOVA, 3 p.m.
TEMPLE at #19 OLD DOMINION, 5 p.m.
QUINNIPIAC at #25 PROVIDENCE, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 20
#24 Fairfield at VILLANOVA, 1 p.m.
Merrimack at #25 PROVIDENCE, 1 p.m.
#15 Syracuse at #3 CONNECTICUT, 1 p.m.
#17 LIBERTY at #1 North Carolina, 1 p.m.
Yale at QUINNIPIAC, 2 p.m.
TEMPLE at Towson, 2 p.m.