PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - The UConn women's field hockey team is the 2024 BIG EAST Champions as they defeated the Temple Owls by a final of 1-0 Sunday afternoon. Julia Bressler scored the winning goal off a penalty stroke in the third quarter to secure the victory.
The first quarter was a defensive battle with neither team able to generate much offense. The Huskies generated two total shots, one on goal, while Temple was unable to generate a single shot. With neither team able to test the goalies with shots on goal, we entered the quarter break scoreless.
The second quarter followed suit as neither team was able to find the back of the net. The teams' defenses were shining as neither team was able to register a shot or shot on goal in the quarter. Both teams had their opportunities in transition but were unable to finish. The Huskies best opportunities to pressure the Temple defense and find the back of the net came midway through the quarter on the transition, however the Temple defense would shut the UConn offense down as they entered the circle.
UConn jumped on the attack early in the third quarter, pressuring the Temple defense looking to gain momentum coming out of half. The Huskies pressure eventually paid off as they were awarded a corner early in the quarter. On the corner, freshman Sophie Perschk fired a shot that was blocked illegally by the defense resulting in a penalty stroke. On the penalty stroke, junior Julia Bressler lined up and fired it past the Temple goalkeeper for the goal. Temple responded fast as they took control of the ball and looked to find the equalizer. Following a UConn turnover, the Owls were awarded two penalty corners, but the Huskies defense stood strong, turning away the Owls attempts at finding the tying goal.
The Huskies defense stood strong in the fourth quarter, preventing the Owls from finding the equalizer. The Huskies penalty corner defense was on display as the Huskies were forced to deny multiple corners within the final three minutes of the game. The Huskies stopped every shot faced and were able to be crowned BIG EAST Champions following the 1-0 victory.
The Huskies will now await their fate as the NCAA Selection show will take place tonight at 10pm.