STORRS, Conn. – The No. 15 nationally ranked Old Dominion field hockey team (14-4, 5-2 BIG EAST) fell to No. 19 UConn (11-10, 5-2) by a 2-1 score in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals on Friday at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. The Huskies scored the go ahead goal with just 1:22 remaining in regulation to punch their ticket to Sunday's title match.
For the match, Old Dominion held advantages for shots (11-5), as well as corners (8-2).
"It's a really tough loss to take, because we played an excellent game," said ODU head coach Andrew Griffiths. "I'm extremely proud of our team and the effort the players put in and the way we played. We absolutely dominated the game and we were much faster and more effective, as you can see by the game stats."
In the 29th minute, Jessica Dembrowski scored her fifth goal of the season to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead just before halftime.
The Monarchs outshot UConn 4-3 in the opening 30 minutes, while taking five of the first half's six corners.
In the 49th minute, Marlon de Bruijne struck, tying the match at 1-1. The goal was de Bruijne's team leading 12th of the season.
"As the game went on, we got stronger," Griffiths continued. "In the second half, we were camped out in UConn's end almost the entire time, and they had no answer on how to get out. So, it was a tough goal against the run of play near the end of the game. In the end, we need to put some more chances in the goal so we don't allow the game to be close."
At the 58:38 mark, Claire Jandewerth finished a double assist from Dembrowski and Lindsay Dickinson to ultimately lift the Huskies to victory.
"With such a young team and a great spirit, I'm hopeful we get a chance to continue into the postseason after how well we have played," Griffiths concluded.
UConn has won the last nine consecutive championship titles dating back to 2012.