Field hockey looks to take Harvard Crimson to school

After their first Big East game of the year, UConn will have to refocus their attention on non-conference opponent Harvard, as the Crimson will face off against the Huskies tonight at 6 p.m.

UConn is 7-0 on the season and will try to push the win streak to eight while Harvard is 3-1. It will be the Crimson's second straight game in Connecticut since they lost 4-3 at Yale last week. The Huskies are coming off a 4-0 win at Providence where Loren Sherer had her second hat trick of the season and Andrea Mainiero recorded her second shutout of the season. The teams have a common opponent in Holy Cross. Both teams beat the Crusaders 4-1 earlier this season. Although UConn will play their second Big East game of the season this weekend versus Louisville, coach Nancy Stevens does not want her team to overlook Harvard.

"As a team, we take each game as an individual challenge and each game stands alone in our preparation and game planning," Stevens said.

History is on the Huskies' side, as UConn has a 26-4-2 record in the all-time series and has won the last three meetings between the two New England schools. Last year, UConn defeated Harvard 5-1 in Boston. This season, the Crimson have averaged 3.75 goals per game and the Huskies will look to hold Harvard to fewer goals.

"Our goal is to play 'shut-out hockey' and limit Harvard's scoring opportunities," Stevens said.

The Crimson's leading scorer is junior forward/midfielder Chloe Keating. Keating has 16 points on the year including six goals and four assists in four games.

The Huskies' scoring tandem of Sherer and Ali Blankmeyer count for more than half of the total team points this season, and will look to stay hot. Shererhas 29 points with 11 goals and Blankmeyer has 15 points. UConn is averaging 4.29 goals per game, and has the same goal as last week- keep the offense on a roll.

"On the offensive end, if we keep the field spread and the game flows, we can then create scoring opportunities for our attackers," Stevens said. "We have quite a few players who can finish, so we need to continue to put them in good scoring positions."

Last week, UConn scored nine goals in two games, a 5-2 win vs. Drexel and 4-0 at Providence. At Providence the Huskies scored three of their goals against the Friars off penalty corners. Coach Stevens knows that this is an important part of the game and the Huskies will try to have more success of penalty corners.

"Three of the four goals came off the penalty corner set piece. Our players work very hard on this part of the game and it is starting to pay dividends," Stevens said.

The Huskies will try to increase their win streak to four against the Crimson, and eight this season, while Harvard will try to start its own streak against UConn.