#BIGEASTfh Minute – League Play Continues Into Week Two
NEW YORK – After the first BIG EAST Field Hockey play date, Connecticut, Liberty, Old Dominion and Georgetown are on the top of the standings, each with the first wins of the season.
Huskies Remain Undefeated In League Action
Connecticut has won 33 consecutive regular-season conference contests, leading off this season with a 5-0 win over Quinnipiac. 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.
First RPI Report Released
BIG EAST field hockey has a league RPI of 3 according to the first NCAA RPI report of 2019, which was released on Sept. 22. Connecticut, ranked third in the NFHCA national rankings, also ranks third in the RPI behind North Carolina and Duke. Liberty is ranked 14th in the RPI, with Georgetown 27th. Old Dominion is two spots behind at 29th. For the rest of the BIG EAST teams, Providence is 48th, Temple is 54th, Villanova is 57th and Quinnipiac is 60th.
Steady in the Polls
Connecticut, Liberty and Old Dominion hold tight to the same or similar positions in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) rankings this week. UConn is No. 3, moving up one spot from No. 14 last week. Liberty remains No. 13 and Old Dominion is No. 22. Liberty lost its first game of the season last week to then-No. 18 Wake Forest, 1-0. Connecticut has suffered just one loss as well, 3-2 at then-No. 11 Michigan on Sept. 13. The Huskies have rattled off three straight wins since, including a 2-1 OT victory over then-No. 6 Princeton last week.
The Weekend Ahead
Highlighting a Friday full of league contests is a battle between two BIG EAST ranked teams as No. 3 UConn (7-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) hosts No. 22 Old Dominion (5-2, 1-0 BIG EAST). Old Dominion is the last team to defeat the Huskies in conference regular season action. ODU is coming off a 3-1 loss to James Madison, while UConn is coming off a 2-1 overtime win on the road at then-No. 6 Princeton. The Huskies and Monarchs will play Friday at 3 p.m. UConn will close out the weekend hosting Boston University at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Friday kicks off with Quinnipiac (2-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) at Georgetown (5-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. The Hoyas defeated Villanova last week in conference play, 3-2, then defeated La Salle 2-1 for a two-win weekend. The Bobcats lost 5-0 to UConn to open BIG EAST action, but rebounded with a 1-0 win over Vermont on Sunday. Quinnipiac hosts Columbia, while Georgetown travels to cross-city rival American on Sunday.
Villanova (3-3. 0-1 BIG EAST) travels to No. 13 Liberty (5-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) for a 4 p.m. game on Friday. The Flames defeated Temple, 4-0, to open BIG EAST play, while the Wildcats lost 3-2 at Georgetown. The Wildcats have lost two in a row, also losing 4-3 in overtime to Rider. Liberty is coming off a loss on the road at Wake Forest. The last time Villanova played on Liberty’s field was during the 2018 BIG EAST Championship. The Wildcats lost to Connecticut in the Semifinals, 9-1. Villanova will close out the weekend at Penn State.
Temple (4-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) and Providence (4-3, 0-1) have the Friday evening final with a game starting at 6 p.m. The Owls are coming off a 3-2 win over Drexel, head coach Susan Ciufo’s alma mater. Providence has lost the last two, a shootout loss to Old Dominion to open league play, then a 2-1 loss at Fairfield to close out last weekend. On Sunday, Temple will host Penn while Providence plays against the fourth ranked competitor of the season, this time No. 6 Louisv
ille.
Upcoming #BIGEASTfh Schedule
Friday, Sept. 27
QUINNIPIAC at GEORGETOWN, 1 p.m.
#22 OLD DOMINION at #3 UCONN, 3 p.m.
VILLANOVA at #13 LIBERTY, 4 p.m.
TEMPLE at PROVIDENCE, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29
VILLANOVA at Penn State, 12 p.m.
Penn at TEMPLE, 1 p.m.
#6 Louisville at PROVIDENCE, 1 p.m.
Boston University at UCONN, 1 p.m.
Columbia at QUINNIPIAC, 1 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at American, 2 p.m.
All times eastern.
BIG EAST teams in ALL CAPS