UConn field hockey finishes regular season with only two losses

The UConn field hockey team ended its 2012 regular season on a positive note. With only two losses and countless numbers of victories against top-ranked opponents, the Huskies are proud of their accomplishments.

“This group of players worked relentlessly to improve as a team throughout the season,” head coach Nancy Stevens said. “They held the nation’s No. 4 ranking for most of the season and finished with the second most wins in Division l with 16.” The team’s great success wasn’t handed to them though; six of their best players graduated last year and their top recruiter was out with an injury for the whole season.

The Huskies had a lot going against them at the beginning of the season, but with hard work, dedication and practice the team was able to shine.

“Our team spent a great deal of time on pressing and out-letting schemes and these two facets of the game have become a real strength,” Stevens said. “Also, the players have worked on their attack penalty corner options each day, which has made our penalty corner a scoring threat in every game.  There are always areas that need improvement and we have a few more weeks to work on those things.”
UConn’s eagerness and determination to continue to improve and be the best team its can be has helped its team thrive in the long run.

Syracuse, UConn, Louisville and Providence will play in the semifinal games this Friday at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky. to determine who will continue on in the hopes of becoming the Big East Champion.

“Going into the Big East Championship, our goal is to play our best hockey of the season,” Stevens said. “All the teams know each other very well by now, so we have been working on adding new attacking and defending schemes to our playbook.”
UConn hasn’t won the Big East Championship since 2009, but hopes to bring home the title this year. Louisa Boddy, Marie Elena Bolles and, Chloe Hunnable are the leagues top three scorers, with a total of 96 points combined. With their aggressive offense and defense, UConn will be a major threat in the championship.

No. 2 UConn will be playing No. 3 Louisville at 7:30 pm for their semifinal game.

“We match up well with Louisville and feel our offensive and defensive schemes will be successful,” Stevens said. “However, we will have to overcome the challenge of playing on the their home field, something we were about to do four weeks ago.”
This season, UConn traveled to Louisville in early October and beat the Cardinals 2-1. Louisa Boddy scored both of the goals for the Huskies off of penalty corners assisted by Vicki Arthur and Chrissy Davidson. With such familiarity, the Huskies feel comfortable with their skills and strategies going into this game.

“It is a matter of identifying what has worked during the season in terms of practice duration and intensity,” Stevens said. “Teams perform better if you keep their training routines somewhat consistent.”
The team looks forward to the challenge in the Big East and hopes to prevail and make it to the Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 4.