University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Look to Topple No. 4 Old Dominion
10/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
About Old Dominion
The Lady Monarchs started the season off with two losses, one each to Michigan State and ranked Michigan. After that, though, they went on a seven-game winning streak with victories over ranked opponents Maryland, Penn State, Wake Forest and Virgnia before falling on Sunday to #5 Princeton, 2-1. ODU is currently sitting 11th nationally in scoring defense at 1.17 and 18th in scoring offense, five below UConn, at 2.55.
UConn vs. Old Dominion
ODU holds a decisive edge over UConn in the series record between the two schools as the Lady Monarchs have taken 21 of the 30 contests.
The two teams first met in 1979, with UConn claiming its first victory over ODU, 7-0. In 1980, the teams met three times, the Huskies winning the first two match-ups before falling in the AIAW Tournament, 2-0. UConn has ended its season with a game against ODU six times in the history of the program, most recently in 2000 when the Lady Monarchs triumphed over the Huskies, 6-4, in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. In 1985, the last time the Huskies won the NCAA National Championship, they defeated ODU, 3-2, in the championship game of the tournament. They had beat the Lady Monarchs earlier that season, 3-1.
Last Time Out
Two goals by freshman standout Lauren Henderson propelled the University of Connecticut field hockey team past BIG EAST foe Providence, 3-0, at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex Wednesday night.
The win was the second shutout for the Huskies and UConn goalie Maureen Butler, who tallied six saves, while the UConn defense held the Friars to only eight shots on the night.
With the victory, UConn’s record improved to 5-4 and 1-1 in the BIG EAST, while Providence fell to 6-3 and 1-2 in the BIG EAST.
Henderson scored the Huskies’ first goal of the game with a shot just inside the circle, unassisted, at the 24:57 mark of the first half.
Then, in a play that has recently become very popular for UConn, sophomore Lauren Christie (Raby, Australia) scored on a penalty corner. After passing the ball in, Christie stepped inside the line and netted the goal after passes from fellow Australian and sophomore Amy Marland (Mt. Warrigal, Australia) and Henderson with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Huskies’ third and final goal came from Henderson, again unassisted, just shy of mid-way through the second half.
For the game, UConn out-shot Providence 14 to 8, and tallied one more corner than the Friars.
Conference Comeback
For the first time since 1997, the Huskies failed to win their BIG EAST opener when they fell to Villanova on Sept. 22, 2-1. They bounced back beautifully, though, when they shutout Providence Wednesday night for a 3-0 BIG EAST victory. UConn’s next conference game is at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10 against Boston College.
Lost Games
In light of the Sept. 11 national tragedy, three UConn field hockey games were canceled. On Sept. 12 the Huskies were slated to take on New Hampshire at Harvard. Then, after an excecutive decision from UConn Athletic Director Lew Perkins, all Husky athletic events for the weekend were canceled, including field hockey match-ups with No. 4 Michigan and No. 9 Iowa in the BIG EAST-Big Ten Challenge in Storrs.
Awesome Aussies
Lauren Christie and Amy Marland, both sophomores from Australia, have stepped up big this season for the Huskies. Marland is currently ranked both in the BIG EAST and nationally in assists and has scored five goals this season, including three in one game. Christie, part of the Huskies’ stingy defense, most recently stepped up on the offensive end, scoring two of the Huskies three goals against UMass last Saturday, then added her third on Wednesday night in the Huskies 3-0 shutout of Providence.
Nation-Wide
Husky players are making marks in more than just conference statistics. Nationally Lauren Henderson, Amy Marland and Maureen Butler are racing up the charts.
Henderson is currently 12th in goals, 11th in goals per game, ninth in points per game, and 14th in points. Marland is tied for 14th in assists per game. Butler, the Hukies goalkeeper, is 15th in saves.
As a team, Connecticut is 13th overall in scoring offense with 2.62 goals per game.
Nearing Perfection
Junior Kelly Stolle and sophomore Amy Marland are boasting shot percentages of .500 and .200, respectively, through the nine games played this season. Both were 100 percent against Harvard on Sept. 19 as every shot they tallied scored a goal.
Sophomore Lauren Christie has recently joined their ranks, as well, as Christie’s shot percentage is sitting at .500 with six shots on the season and three goals. In the past two games, she has gone 3-for-3, with every shot tallying a goal for the Huskies.
More Than One
Four different Husky players have had multi-goal games so far this season. Freshman Lauren Henderson and junior Kelly Stolle both tallied two goals apiece in UConn’s first victory of the season over St. Joseph’s. In their second win, sophomore Amy Marland netted a whopping three goals, then Stolle added two more in the Huskies’ Sept. 19 win over Harvard. Against Massachusetts last Saturday, sophomore Lauren Christie netted two of her own, the first two of her career. Henderson added to her already escalating season total on Wednesday night when she netted two more goals in the Huskies win over BIG EAST foe Providence.
Rulin’ the Conference
Three Husky players are sitting pretty atop the BIG EAST statistical categories for points and goals after last week’s games. Freshman Lauren Henderson, sophomore Amy Marland and junior Kelly Stolle are sitting at first, second and fourth, respectively, in points, and first, third and second, respectively in goals.
The team as a whole is also running the show as UConn leads in the goals scored category with 21 and sits at third in assists with 16, led by Villanova with 18 and Syracuse with 17.
The Protector
Junior goalie Maureen Butler has started all nine Husky games this season and has played all but 3:34 of the 630 minutes of the games. She has tallied two shutouts, against St. Joseph’s in the Morgan Stanley Husky Classic and most recently against Providence on Wednesday night. In UConn’s 4-1 win over Harvard on Sept. 19, she deflected 16 of the Crimson’s 20 shots and allowed just one goal. She currently has 68 saves on the season and a .810 save percentage. Nationally, following last week’s action, she was sitting at 15th in saves.
Stevens’ Smokin’
In her 12th season at the University of Connecticut, Nancy Stevens continues to lead the Huskies down the path to success.
While at UConn, she has tallied 12-straight winning seasons, five-straight BIG EAST regular-season championships, five BIG EAST tournament championhips, five-straight NCAA tournament appearences (six overall), three NCAA Final Eight appearances, and two NCAA Final Four appearances.
In her 22 seasons of coaching, Stevens has climbed the charts, and now holds the fourth-highest winning total nationally with a career record of 344-114-24 for a .739 winning percentage.
Ware’s Final Campaign
Megan Ware, the lone senior on this year’s roster has begun her final campaign in good fashion, leading her team to a championship at the Morgan Stanley Husky Classic on Sept. 1-2. Ware has played and started in all nine games, tallying 15 shots and two assists on the season thus far. She is also part of a stingy Husky defense that has tallied two shutouts this season.
Freshmen Phenoms
Two of the nine freshmen on this season’s squad have seen action in every game this season. Lauren Henderson has started every game this season, and Kirsty Slagter has started all but one UConn game. In addition, Henderson is currently sitting atop UConn and BIG EAST statistical categories with nine goals, four assists and 22 points She has also taken the most shots out of all the players in the Husky line-up with 58, 30 more than the next highest.
Puttin’ ’Em In
After going scoreless in their first outing of the season, the Huskies have come back in fine fashion, scoring 24 goals in eight games to lead the BIG EAST in goals scored.
Stolle’s Accolades
Junior Kelly Stolle was named the BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Week for the week of August 27-September 2, along with Syracuse’s Kristin Aronowicz. Stolle was also named the MVP for the Connecticut team at the Morgan Stanley Husky Classic.
