#16 Field Hockey Falls 4-1 to #3 UConn in the BIG EAST Championship Game

Sunday, November 9

Providence, R.I.

1:00 p.m.

Temple University

(14-7)

UConn (BIG EAST Championship)

(16-3)

Temple

UConn

Temple Field Hockey finished as runners-up at the 2014 BIG EAST Tournament

#16 Field Hockey Falls 4-1 to #3 UConn in the BIG EAST Championship Game

11.9.14 | Field Hockey

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In its first-ever BIG EAST Championship game, #16 Temple field hockey came up short against #3 UConn in a 4-1 loss on Sunday afternoon at Providence College. The Owls (14-7) fell behind 3-0 by halftime and were only able to get one back in the second half against the top-seeded Huskies (16-3).

Temple's at-large NCAA Tournament chances are now in the hands of the selection committee, with the NCAA Selection Show set for 10:00 p.m. Sunday night at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule.

Four Owls were honored with selection to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team, including sophomore forward Katie Foran who scored a goal in both tournament games. She was joined by senior forward Amber Youtz, senior midfielder Nicole Kroener and senior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen.

UConn's BIG EAST title is its 14th in program history, and junior Roisin Upton was named Tournament MVP.

The Owls had unfortunate luck on two strong opportunities in the first half, as they were awarded two penalty strokes but could not get either one to go.

"We had a couple missed opportunities today, but I thought our team really stepped up and played well today," said Temple head coach Amanda Janney. "We're proud of them, and I think we've made a strong case for an at-large NCAA bid."

On Temple first corner of the game in the fourth minute, a shot by Youtz was blocked by a defender's body and the Owls were awarded a penalty stroke. Youtz took the shot, but it was saved on the left post by UConn's Nina Klein.

The Owls had another corner chance in the 12th minute, but had a shot blocked by UConn.

Despite being a player down, UConn earned a corner in the 20th minute and got its first goal from Casey Umstead off an assist by Anna Middendorf.

In a rare occurrence, the Owls were awarded a second stroke with eight minutes left in the half. Nicole Kroener took the shot but did not get the hit she was looking for, and it was stopped by Klein.

With Temple's defense left vulnerable after the stroke attempt, UConn came back down quickly to score and make it 2-0.

On their third corner with just over three minutes left in the half, the Huskies made it 3-0 on a goal by McKenzie Townsend with a second assist from Middendorf.

After some early UConn pressure in the second half, the Owls picked it up and the aggressiveness paid off with a penalty corner. Foran scored on the opportunity five minutes into the half on assists from Kroener and Rachel Steinman.

Taylor Shronk made a defensive save just a couple minutes later to keep the Owls' momentum going, and Millen made four saves in just the first 11 minutes of the second half.

The Owls had just one more corner chance the rest of the way, and were unable to get any shots on goal.

With just under nine minutes remaining, the Huskies increased their lead back to three on a goal by Darby Smith who one-timed it to the left post off an assist from Chloe Hunnable.

Millen finished with six saves in the contest, while UConn's Klein made two, both on penalty strokes.

Box Score