No. 2 Seed Old Dominion (11-6, 6-1 BIG EAST) vs. No. 1 Seed Connecticut (17-3, 7-0 BIG EAST)
Game Info – Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep Championship Game
Location – Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium (Hamden, Conn.)
HAMDEN, Conn. – After defeating Liberty in the semifinal round, the second-seeded and No. 18 Old Dominion field hockey team sets its sights on top-seeded and No. 3 Connecticut in the final round of the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep on Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m.
This is the second BIG EAST Championship Game the Monarchs have played in, and the first since their inaugural season in the BIG EAST Conference in 2013. That year, the Monarchs fell to the Huskies 1-0 in overtime.
Although they have never won the BIG EAST crown, the Monarchs have won 32 conference championships in total, the last one coming in 2011 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
To get to this point, ODU dispatched Liberty this past Friday, 3-1. Nicole Fredricks, Riley Taylor and Tori Harwood each scored in the victory, while Cam MacGillivray saved two shots to earn her 11th win on the year.
For the season, senior Rebecca Birch leads the team in goals and points, with nine and 25, respectively. Senior Erin Huffman is one goal off the team lead, going into the conference championship with eight goals and 17 points. Two other Monarchs have double-digit point totals, as Taylor is second on the team with 18 points and five goals, while senior Alexandria Brewer has 12 points. Junior Marlee McClendon leads the team with nine assists on the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Cam MacGillivray has accrued 63 saves while posting five shutouts.
The Monarchs had five players earn All-BIG EAST honors, as Birch and Huffman were each named to the First Team, while McClendon, MacGillivray and Fredricks were named to the Second Team.
Earlier in the season on September 27, the Monarchs traveled up to Storrs, Connecticut to face the No. 3 Huskies. UConn handed ODU its only conference loss of the season, taking the game, 6-2. It was the most goals the Monarch defense allowed in the season.
The winner of this matchup will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which officially gets started on Wednesday, November 13.
About UConn
UConn has been ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation according to the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll for seven weeks in a row, and has been featured in the poll’s top-five since the preseason. The Huskies have won the last seven BIG EAST Championships dating back to 2012, and have won 18 BIG EAST crowns in total.
Like the Monarchs, UConn had five players earn All-BIG EAST honors, with three First-Teamers and two Second-Teamers. Svea Boker earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 18 goals and 49 points and placing third in assists with 13. Boker’s 2.45 points per game mark ranks her fifth in the country. Huskies goalkeeper Cheyanne Sprecher was named the BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year after 85 saves and 11 shutouts while leading the league with a 0.75 goals against average and leading the country with a .850 save percentage.
The Huskies defeated No. 4 seed Providence, 2-0 on Friday, behind goals from Maddy Wray and Anotnia Tiedtke. Sprecher posted her 11th shutout of the season, stopping three shots to lead UConn to its 18th-consecutive BIG EAST Championship final appearance.
As a team, UConn ranks first in the nation in goals against average (0.74), save percentage (0.857) and assists per game (3.45).
Series History
Despite the loss earlier this season to UConn, the Monarchs still hold a 24-18 record over the Huskies in the 42 previous games these two teams have faced off against each other. UConn has won the two previous BIG EAST Tournament matches the two programs met each other in, winning the 2013 Championship game 1-0 in overtime, and the 2015 semifinals match 4-3.
Follow Along
As always, fans of the Monarchs can follow along with all the action from home if they can’t make it to the game. A live stream of all the games in the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Caffeine TV. In addition to appearing on Caffeine, BEDN events will be co-streamed on YouTube Live via the conference's official YouTube Channel as well as the conference’s Twitter page.
The game also features a Live Stats webpage that is up to the minute with all the action taking place on the field.
Fans can also follow ODU field hockey’s Twitter page for game updates and information by clicking here.
BIG EAST Tournament Tickets
The Monarchs are in Quinnipiac for the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship presented by Jeep, which takes place November 10.
To purchase tickets to see the conference tournament, visit www.bigeast.com/fhtickets or call the Quinnipiac University Ticket Office at (203) 582-3905. If you have any questions regarding tickets for the event, call the box office or email tickets@qu.edu.
All Session Ticket Info
- $12- Adult
- $7 – Youth (3-12)
- $7 – Group (10+ People)
- Free- College Students with a valid photo ID
Single Session Ticket Info
- $10- Adult
- $5 – Youth (3-12)
- $5 – Group (10+ People)
- Free- College Students with a valid photo ID