NEW YORK – The 2019 field hockey season gets underway on Friday with all eight teams in action this weekend with five games on Friday. Starting the season, the BIG EAST boasts two teams in the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association’s (NFHCA) preseason poll with the league’s preseason favorite Connecticut as No. 4 and Liberty, No. 20.
UConn and Quinnipiac get their seasons started on the West Coast playing in California. Georgetown, Temple, Old Dominion and Providence open at home on Friday. Liberty and Villanova are also at home to start 2019, playing their first games on Saturday.
Early Tests
Both Connecticut and Providence will play two games this weekend against the NFHCA top 25. The Friars open hosting No. 13 Boston College, then close the weekend Sunday at No. 24 Maine. The Friars were picked third in the preseason coaches’ poll. Boston College has won the last nine meetings against Providence. The Friars last defeated the Eagles on Oct. 1, 2008 in double-overtime, 2-1. Providence holds a 21-14-1 record over Maine and won the last meeting 1-0. Connecticut, the winners of six straight BIG EAST regular season titles and seven league tournament championships, will play against No. 15 Northwestern on Saturday and No. 21 Stanford on Sunday. Both games will be at 2 p.m. ET. In 2018, UConn defeated both teams in opening weekend, taking down then-No. 12 Northwestern 4-2 and shutting down then-No. 15 Stanford, 3-0. Old Dominion also opens against a ranked opponent, No. 11 Virginia. Last year, Old Dominion defeated then-No. 8 Virginia, on the road, 2-1 in overtime.
Georgetown will host Davidson at home on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., while Merrimack visits Temple for a 5 p.m. match. The Hoyas will host Appalachian State on Sunday at noon and Temple will host local rival La Salle. Quinnipiac starts the season on the road Friday at University of California at 10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. Pacific.
The Villanova Wildcats play their first game on Sunday, hosting Sacred Heart at noon. No. 20 Liberty also opens Saturday, hosting James Madison at 1 p.m.
Preseason Recap
For the 10th straight season, UConn was picked to win the BIG EAST in the preseason coaches' poll. The top preseason individual awards were split between Connecticut and Liberty, the top two teams in the poll. Liberty junior defender Ashley Dykema was voted BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Connecticut senior forward Svea Boker was selected BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The Huskies, who have won 32 straight league regular-season contests, received seven first-place votes for a total of 49 points in the poll. Liberty, the 2018 BIG EAST regular-season and tournament runner-up, grabbed the remaining first-place vote along with 42 total points. Providence came in third with 34 points, just ahead of Old Dominion with 33 points. For the full preseason release, click
HERE.
Upcoming #BIGEASTfh Schedule
Friday, Aug. 30
Davidson at GEORGETOWN, 2 p.m.
Merrimack at TEMPLE, 5 p.m.
No. 11 Virginia at OLD DOMINION, 5 p.m.
No. 13 Boston College at PROVIDENCE, 6 p.m.
QUINNIPIAC at California, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Aug 31
No. 15 Northwestern vs. No. 4 CONNECTICUT (Stanford, Calif.), 2 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 1
Appalachian State at GEORGETOWN, 12 p.m.
Sacred Heart at VILLANOVA, 12 p.m.
La Salle at TEMPLE, 1 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at No. 24 Maine, 1 p.m.
James Madison at No. 20 LIBERTY, 1 p.m.
No. 4 CONNECTICUT at No. 21 Stanford, 2 p.m.
QUINNIPIAC at U.C. Davis, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 3
QUINNIPIAC at No. 21 Stanford, 1 p.m.
All times eastern.
BIG EAST teams in ALL CAPS