LYNCHBURG, VA. - The BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by JEEP opened Friday afternoon with No. 1 seed Liberty taking down No. 4 seed Villanova 3-1. No. 2 seed UConn defeated No. 3 seed Old Dominion 4-1. The Lady Flames and the Huskies advance to Sunday's title match at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

No. 7 Liberty 3, Villanova 1
Liberty opened the scoring late in the first half as Maite Altamirano netted her first career goal at 27:21, giving the Lady Flames a 1-0 lead at the half. Villanova responded in the fourth quarter with an equalizer from Ava Borkowski at 47:46. Less than five minutes later, Josefina Tomasi put Liberty back in front, 2-1. The Lady Flames added an open net goal in the final seconds to take a 3-1 victory. Liberty goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin, the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, recorded two saves, while Villanova’s Sophie Vokel tallied four saves.

No. 20 UConn 4, Old Dominion 1
UConn’s Pien Prins opened the scoring with an unassisted goal before Old Dominion’s Sian Emslie tied the game at 23:17. Prins struck again in the final seconds of the first half on a penalty corner to give the Huskies a 2-1 lead at the half. UConn extended its lead in the second half with goals from Fien Hollander at 37:51 and Abby Davidson at 50:42, securing a 4-1 advantage. UConn’s Natalie McKenna had three saves while Old Dominion’s Suus Broers tallied six.

BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by JEEP 
Semifinals – Friday, November 7 – ESPN+
No. 1 Liberty 3, No. 4 Villanova 1
No. 2 UConn 4, No. 3 Old Dominion 1
 Finals – Sunday, November 9 – ESPN+
No. 1 Liberty vs. No. 2 UConn, 1 p.m. ET