#BIGEASTfh Minute – League Play Continues, No. 3 UConn Clashes With No. 4 Maryland
NEW YORK – No. 3 Connecticut (9-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) has a big non-conference battle with No. 4 Maryland on Sunday at noon. The Terps are coming off a 2-1 win over No. 18 Rutgers last Saturday and 2-1 double overtime win at No. 5 Northwestern on Thursday. Last season, the Terps ended the Huskies’ season in the NCAA Second Round, an overtime battle that ended 2-1 in favor of Maryland. Connecticut will look to continue its current league winning streak Friday as the Huskies travel to Temple for a 5 p.m. contest. Connecticut has won 34-straight BIG EAST games. Temple (4-4, 0-2) has lost the last two conference games again Liberty and Providence.
Quinnipiac plays two ranked teams this weekend in No. 13 Liberty and No. 17 Boston College. The Bobcats will start at home against BIG EAST foe Lady Flames, who are undefeated through two conference play dates. Quinnipiac (3-6) is 1-1 in league play coming off a 2-1 shootout victory at Georgetown last weekend. The Bobcats lost their league opener to then-No. 4 Connecticut, 5-0. Liberty (6-1, 2-0), stays stead for the third straight week ranked 13th nationally. The Lady Flames have BIG EAST wins over Villanova and Temple. Liberty shutout both league opponents and scored a collective nine goals against the Wildcats and Owls. Quinnipiac and Liberty will play at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
Liberty finishes the weekend with a contest at No. 19 Harvard. Liberty is 0-1 against ranked teams so far this season with a one-goal loss at then-No. 18 Wake Forest on Sept.22. Liberty leads the NCAA in goals against average (0.57). Last weekend, the win over Temple was the 100th victory for the Lady Flames program.
Providence (5-4, 1-1) and Villanova (3-5, 0-2) will square off at 6 p.m. in Philadelphia. The Friars lead the all-time series against the Wildcats 24-11-2. The last time these two teams met was an overtime affair in favor of Providence. The Friars will host Dartmouth on Sunday. Dartmouth leads that series, 6-5. Providence defeated Temple 1-0 last weekend for their first league victory this season. Villanova is on the hunt for their first BIG EAST win after losing 5-0 to Liberty last Friday and 3-2 to Georgetown in the opener.
The final BIG EAST clash on Friday night has Georgetown visiting No. 22 Old Dominion. Both teams are 1-1 in league play and both teams are coming off a league loss. The Hoyas lost 2-1 in a shootout to Quinnipiac last Friday, while the Monarchs lost 6-2 to Connecticut. ODU holds a 5-1 record against Georgetown, with the Hoyas victory coming last season, 2-1 in overtime.
Old Dominion will face a tough Virginia team on Sunday to close the weekend. UVA is ranked eighth nationally. The Cavaliers and Monarchs played in the 2019 season opener with then-No. 11 Virginia winning 3-0. Last season in Charlottesville, the Monarchs left town with a 2-1 overtime victory.
Georgetown will close the weekend at William & Mary.
#BIGEASTfh Weekend Schedule
Friday, Oct. 4
#13 LIBERTY at QUINNIPIAC, 3 p.m.
#3 CONNECTICUT at TEMPLE, 5 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at VILLANOVA, 6 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at #22 OLD DOMINION, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 6
#3 CONNECTICUT at #4 Maryland, Noon
QUINNIPIAC at #17 Boston College, Noon
Bucknell at VILLANOVA, Noon
Dartmouth at PROVIDENCE, 1 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at William & Mary, 1 p.m.
#22 OLD DOMINION at #8 Virginia, 1 p.m.
#13 LIBERTY at #19 Harvard, 1 p.m.