Championship Central
Conshohocken, Pa. – The BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Presented by JEEP starts Thursday with the semifinals beginning at 1 p.m. ET. No. 1 seed Connecticut vs. No. 4 seed Temple will play first, followed by No. 2 seed Liberty vs. No. 3 seed Old Dominion at 4 p.m. The championship will be played at The Proving Grounds, while Villanova serves as the tournament hosts.
The semifinal winners will play each other at noon on Saturday for the championship title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The entirety of the tournament will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi. Fans can watch on the conference’s dedicated channel on YouTube. Nick Mantegna and Team USA's Ali Campbell will be on the call from the Proving Grounds. Ashley Liotus will be on site as the BIG EAST Digital Network Correspondent.
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 4 Temple, 1 p.m. ET
Watch | Live Stats
Connecticut is making its 31st appearance overall in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship. The Huskies have won 19 BIG EAST Championship titles and has advanced to the championship game 27 times. Connecticut is the defending champion, having won the last eight consecutive tournament titles. UConn finished 8-1 in league play this season and is currently ranked No. 7 nationally by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Temple returns to the championship for the fifth time, the first time since 2016. UConn and Temple also met in the first semifinal of the 2016 championship, where the Huskies defeated the Owls 8-1 to advance. Temple is 2-4 overall in the championship field. The Owls went 4-8 in BIG EAST play this season.
Thursday is the fourth meeting in the BIG EAST Championship for UConn and Temple. In addition to the 2016 semis, the two teams also met in the 2014 title tilt and 2013 semifinals. The Owls are looking for their first win over the Huskies in the postseason tournament. Due to the unbalanced schedule, UConn and Temple did not play during the regular season.
No. 2 Liberty vs. No. 3 Old Dominion, 4 p.m. ET (approx.)
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Liberty has made the conference tournament every year since joining the league in 2016. Finishing second at 10-2 in conference play, 13-2 overall, the Lady Flames are ranked sixth nationally. Liberty has played as the No. 2 seed in the tournament four of the last five seasons. The Lady Flames are 3-4 in the conference championship and have finished as runners up three times (2016, 2017, 2018).
Old Dominion, ranked 16th nationally, makes its sixth appearance in the tournament field, second in as many years. The Monarchs are 2-5 all time and finished as runner up in 2013 and 2019. Old Dominion comes into the tournament with an 8-3 conference record, 8-4 overall.
Last year, Old Dominion and Liberty also faced off in the second semifinal. ODU took the victory, 3-1, and advanced to the title game. Liberty and Old Dominion also met in the 2017 championship. In the first meeting, it was Liberty who came away with the 3-1 win in the semifinals. This season, Liberty and Old Dominion four times. The Lady Flames won three of the four meetings. Besides UConn, Old Dominion was Liberty’s only loss. Liberty won 4-1 on March 6, 2-0 on March 7 and 4-2 on March 27. Old Dominion won 2-1 on March 26.
BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship Presented by Jeep
All games will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi
Semifinals – Thursday, April 22
No. 4 Temple vs. No. 1 UConn, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Old Dominion vs. No. 2 Liberty, 4 p.m.
Finals – Saturday, April 24
Semifinal Winners, Noon
All Times are Eastern.