Field Hockey to Face No. 10 UConn for BIG EAST Championship

Game Info: Sunday, November 10, 2024 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Lennon Family Field - Providence, R.I.
TV: FloSports ($) | Live Stats: Owlsports.com | Game Notes: Temple | Tickets

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Twitter/X: @TempleFH | Instagram: @templefieldhockey
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Center Circle
The Temple University field hockey team plays for its first ever BIG EAST championship when it faces the No. 10 UConn Huskies on Sunday, November 10. Game time from Lennon Family Field in Providence, R.I. is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.

Last Time Out - Temple Downs ODU to Advance to BIG EAST Final
Agustina Tucceri scored 3:05 into the second overtime as the Temple field hockey team downed the No. 20 Old Dominion Monarchs, 2-1 on Friday evening.

BY THE NUMBERS

Tucceri redirected a pass from Alizé Maes off a corner for the game winner in the second overtime.
Lina Neilson tied the score at 1-1 in the fourth quarter with her first goal of the season.
Peyton Rieger posted an assist on Neilson's goal.
Temple held the Monarchs to just five penalty corners in the game. ODU came in fifth nationally averaging more than nine per contest.

Third Time Is The Charm (Part I)
Friday was the third season in a row that Temple and Old Dominion played in the BIG EAST semifinals. The old adage held true as the Owls downed the Monarchs for the first time in that span to advance to its first BIG EAST championship game since 2015.

Third Time Is The Charm (Part II)
Sunday will be the third BIG EAST championship game appearance for Temple. TU is looking for its first title since joining the conference.

Turning Tide?
Temple's win against ODU was their second of the season against the Monarchs after not having beaten Old Dominion previously since 2016.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Yesterday's semifinal was the first game the Owls played after under artificial light this season.

Comeback Kids
Friday's game win was also the first this season the Owls won when trailing at halftime.

Extra Action
The semifinal against Old Dominion was the sixth overtime game for the Owls in 2024. That total is the most in a season since TU went into extra time in eight contests in 2006. Both games against the Monarchs went into OT this year.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction
Both of the previous two times the Cherry and White has won a BIG EAST semifinal, the final score was 2-1. It downed ODU in 2014 and beat Villanova in overtime in 2015. It is also a familiar opponent in the final as TU has faced UConn in both of its previous championship game appearances.

Unsung Hero
If you follow Temple field hockey, you know how important Lina Neilson is to the team. The junior from Mount Laurel, N.J. has played in 56 of 57 possible career games and started 18 of the 19 contests this season with the lone exception being Senior Day. She doesn't always get the recognition that her teammates do because she doesn't accumulate the stats from her defensive midfield position. Neilson came up with the goal of her career on Friday, however, recording her first tally of the season on the penalty corner that tied the game in the fourth quarter against Old Dominion.

Scouting Report
UConn enters play 16-3 overall and went 6-1 in the BIG EAST. Most recently the Huskies downed No. 18 Liberty in the BIG EAST semifinals, ending a run of three consecutive years the Flames were in the title game.

Leading the offense for UConn are Sophie Perschk and Juul Sauer with 12 goals apiece and 32 and 30 points, respectively. Sol Simone has done an excellent job of distributing the ball with 11 assists.

Overall the Huskies move the ball very well, ranking fourth nationally with 3.22 assists per game and have four players (Simone, Perschk, Juana Garcia and Sophia Ugo) all ranked in the top-100 of NCAA Division I in assists per game.

In the cage, Natalie McKenna has played the majority of the minutes and has a 1.21 goals against average with 62 saves on the season.

Paul Caddy is in his fifth season as the head coach at UConn with a record of 55-36 in Storrs.

Last Time Against UConn
The Owls and Huskies played a scoreless first half, before a goal in each of the third and fourth quarters by No. 14 UConn lifted the Huskies to a 2-0 win in Storrs on September 20.

All-Time Series
Sunday is the 23rd all-time meeting between Temple and UConn with the Huskies holding a 16-5-1 advantage. Temple last defeated UConn on September 15, 2023, a 1-0 victory at Howarth Field.

Up Next
The winner of the Temple-UConn game will receive an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament with the opponent, date and time to be determined. The selection show is on Sunday, at 10:00 p.m.