UConn Huskies to welcome Penn St. Nittany Lions

Friday night, the No. 6-ranked UConn field hockey team takes on No. 9 Penn State in a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight contest under the lights at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.

The Huskies opened their season last weekend with a 3-0 win over Bucknell and an 8-0 victory against Sacred Heart.

The Huskies boast a stout defense, led by senior Alicia Angelini, who took home Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors last week. Two games into the season, UConn has yet to allow a goal, although they have not yet faced competition as tough as the Nittany Lions.

On the offensive side, the Huskies are led by junior forward Marie Elena Bolles, who has seven points on the season. Sophomore Chloe Hunnable received a spot on the Big East Honor Roll last week for her outstanding offensive performance, and is tied with Angelini for second place on the team. Hunnable and Angelini have six points apiece.

Penn State has also been tested by top-10 opponents early on in the season and has managed to come out on top in both of their contests. Against No. 3 Old Dominion, the Nittany Lions scored three straight second-period goals to come out on top 5-2, before narrowly winning with a 3-2 victory against No. 8 Virginia. Penn State started their season 2-0 for the first time since 2007.

In last season’s Elite Eight matchup, the two sides were evenly matched much of the way. The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 1-0 lead just over 21 minutes into the contest. But the Huskies came back to score the next three goals of the game – all in the second half – and won the game 3-2 to advance to the 10th Final Four in program history.

The two sides should still be familiar with one another, as Penn State lost only four players from last year’s squad and the Huskies return 14 from last year’s roster.