LYNCHBURG, Va. – Villanova Field Hockey clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Championship Friday, Oct. 26 when it defeated No. 25 Old Dominion 2-1 in an exciting shoot-out decision.
This year's BIG EAST Conference Championship presented by Jeep will be hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. at the Liberty Field Hockey and Lacrosse Fields.
The Connecticut Huskies will be entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed and face No. 4 seed Villanova. No. 2 seed Liberty will compete against Providence in the No. 3 spot. Semifinal action is set for Friday, Nov. 2 starting with the Wildcats and Huskies battling at 1 p.m. followed by the Flames and Friars at 4 p.m.
Last UConn Matchup
The Wildcats last faced the Huskies on October 12, in Storrs, Conn. where they fell 6-0.
Throughout the contest, UConn's strength was seen in penalty corners. Five of the Huskies' six goals scored were corner opportunities converted into goals. Of the five goals that were scored from corners, three of them were scored on the first shot taken on the insert. The two others were scored on second attempts after either being blocked or saved.
Although the Huskies scored six goals to Villanova's zero, the Wildcats were able to keep the reigning National Champs to one goal in the second half.
For the contest, the Wildcats were able to get off 10 shots, seven penalty corners and tally three saves. UConn recorded 18 shots, 10 penalty corners and seven saves.
After Villanova was defeated by UConn, the Wildcats went on a four-game win streak defeating Longwood, Temple, Columbia, and No. 25 Old Dominion. The 'Cats win streak was ended in their last regular season contest of the year against Brown University in a 3-1 loss.
Villanova ends the regular season with an overall record of 9-9 and a conference record of 4-3 improving from a 7-10 and 3-4 record in 2017.
Last BIG EAST Appearance
In 2015, Villanova Field Hockey faced Temple in a BIG EAST semifinal contest. The tournament took place on Nov. 6-8 in Norfolk, Va. at Old Dominion's L.R. Sports Hills Complex.
No. 2 Villanova was defeated by No. 3 Temple 2-1 in overtime, ending its season with an overall record of 5-12 overall and a conference record of 2-3.
The Wildcats were first on the board with a goal by then senior Heather Smillie assisted by
Allison Sayia who was then a freshman and is now a senior making her second BIG EAST tournament appearance.
Erika Miller in the net as a freshman for Nova, came up big with multiple saves to prevent the Owls from getting on the board allowing Villanova to hold a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Temple pulled their goalie to add an extra attack. Luckily, for the Owls the plan went as hoped and they were on the board and tied things up 1-1 with 1:29 left in the half.
In overtime, Temple was the one able to score first with a goal by Tricia Light, securing them a spot in the championship round. The Owls went on to face the UConn Huskies in the final round and fell 7-3.
Miller finished the contest with a career high, 12 saves. The Wildcats only took six total shots to Temple's 21 on the afternoon but led in penalty corners, 5-4.
