The Huskies celebrate after scoring in their 1-0 semifinal win over Albany Friday at the Final Four.
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 21 – The Huskies are going back to the NCAA field hockey championship game. No. 3 Connecticut scored less than four minutes into the game and didn’t look back in a 1-0 win over Albany at the Final Four at the University of Maryland Friday night.
UConn (19-2) will play old Big East foe Syracuse for the national championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. The defending NCAA champion Huskies will playing in the final for the sixth time. UConn won last year and 1981 and 1985. The game will be televised live on NCAA.com.
UConn got off to a hot start again, taking a 1-0 lead just 3:16 into the contest after Chrissy Davidson collected a bouncing ball in the middle of the circle and cracked a shot on goal that popped up into the air and allowed Chloe Hunnable a chance to tap it in for her 10th score of the year. For Davidson, it was her 12th assist of the season and her 25th over the last two years.
The Husky defense was impressive in the opening half, thwarting nine Great Dane shots, including four saves from redshirt-freshman Nina Klein. No. 12 Albany (20-3) threatened with 7:30 remaining in the opening stanza, putting a shot on goal and slapping the rebound towards net but Olivia Bolles cut to the net and cleared the ball off the line for a defensive save.
Hunnable nearly put the game on ice with just over seven minutes to go when she took a pass from Sophie Bowen blasted a shot that clanged off the post. Klein was excellent in the cage, turning away five Great Dane shots en route to her 13th straight win.
Syracuse is now a member of the ACC. The Orange beat North Carolina, 3-2 on penalty storkes to earn a spot in the championship game.
The last time that UConn and Syracuse played was in the final of the 2012 Big East Tournament. UConn prevailed with a dramatic 4-3 decision to win the tournament on a goal from Hunnable in the final minute.
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