No. 3 UConn Field Hockey Still Undefeated

ophomore back Roisin Upton scored her fifth goal of the season late in the second half to lift the No. 3 University of Connecticut field hockey team past defending national champion and No. 10 Princeton, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex in Storrs, Conn. With the win, UConn improves to 9-0 on the season while the Tigers slip to 5-3.

The Huskies improve to 13-7 all-time against Princeton and won their first game against the defending national champion since defeating Old Dominion, 3-0, on October 9, 1999.

UConn is also 4-0 against ranked teams this year and 3-0 against opponents ranked in the top-10. The Huskies are 20-7 in their last 27 games against ranked teams.

Upton’s game-winner came at the 62:20 mark. UConn created three-straight penalty corner opportunities in a two-minute span and, after failing to capitalize on the previous two, Upton cashed in on the third. She dribbled the ball from the top of the circle to the right wing and struck a shot that was redirected by a Princeton defender and into the top left-hand corner.

Upton, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Week, is now tied for second on the team with five goals and leads the squad with five assists. The game-winner was the first of her career.

All-American goalkeeper Sarah Mansfield was outstanding once again and lowered her goals against average to 0.97 en route to registering the 23rd shutout of her career. Perhaps her finest save came with only 1:30 remaining in the first half. Princeton’s Cat Caro got behind the Husky defense on a counterattack and had a one-on-one opportunity with Mansfield. Caro struck a shot that looked ticketed for the net but Mansfield stayed in front of it and it ricocheted off her mask and out of harm’s way.

The shutout was UConn’s fourth of the season.

Princeton’s Anya Gersoff made seven saves for the Tigers as the Huskies ended the game with a 16-9 edge in shots. UConn also held a 7-4 advantage in penalty corners.

UConn is back in action on Saturday, October 5 when the team makes the short trip to Providence to take on the Friars. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m.

Reprinted with permission from UConnHuskies.com

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