Field Hockey: Huskies named Big East regular season champions after 3-1 win over Old Dominion 

UConn’s women’s field hockey team was named the Big East Champions after defeating Old Dominion. Photo courtesy of @uconnflhockey/Instagram

The No. 10 UConn Huskies field hockey team traveled to Norfolk, VA to face off against the Old Dominion Monarchs.  

Coming off a loss the previous Sunday to a very good Syracuse squad, Connecticut came into this matchup looking to bounce back and finish their regular season with a win in conference play.  

The matchup winner would ultimately decide who is crowned as the Big East regular season champions, as both squads came into the game with a 5-1 conference record. 

Connecticut opened up the scoring early, as freshman Sophie Perschk cashed in on a second chance opportunity to put the Huskies up 1-0 eleven minutes into the game. 

In the second quarter, UConn struck again, as Perschk found freshman teammate Juul Sauer for the goal, putting Connecticut up 2-0 early on in the matchup. Not long after, the Connecticut lead grew to three, as senior Madi Herb found the back of the net on a second chance opportunity. 

However, the Monarchs responded quickly, as freshman Amelie Zielcke scored off an assist from teammates Frederique Zandbergen and Rina Tsioles, cutting the Connecticut lead to two. 

The rest of the game was a defensive matchup, as the UConn defense locked down the aggressive Monarch offense that was trying to make a comeback, and Connecticut prevailed with a 3-1 victory, being crowned the Big East Regular Season Champions for the first time since the 2020-21 COVID-19 season.  

Coming off a difficult 2023 campaign, the Huskies relied on their star players. Sauer and Perschk played major roles in the Huskies’ offense this season, leading the team in points and both having twelve goals on the season which also led the team. Perschk also had eight assists, second on the team behind junior Sol Simone, who finished with eleven. 

In conference play, Sauer was tied for first in the conference in points and goals, while Perschk was tied for first in goals during Big East play as well and senior Sophia Ugo came in third in assists, with Simone right behind her in fourth. 

Finishing the regular season with a strong 15-3 overall record and 6-1 in Big East play, the Huskies now look to make a push at the national tournament. But first, their focus is on the Big East tournament, where they will travel to Providence, R.I. next week to take on Liberty in their semifinal matchup. The winner of that will go on to face the winner of Old Dominion and Temple on Sunday. 

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