No. 4 UConn Takes an OT Thriller, 2-1, over No. 6 Princeton

Sunday, September 22

Princeton, N.J.

12:00 PM

Princeton University

(3-3)

#4 UConn

(7-1)

UConn

Princeton

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

No. 4 UConn Takes an OT Thriller, 2-1, over No. 6 Princeton

September 22, 2019 | Field Hockey

Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – Svea Boker's goal four minutes into overtime gave the No. 4 Connecticut Huskies a 2-1 victory over the No. 6 Princeton Tigers at Bedford Field on Sunday afternoon.

Boker dribbled along the far side of the circle and whipped a shot that got by Grace Baylis to secure the win.

The Tigers started off quickly forcing UConn's goalie Cheyenne Sprecher to make two stops in the first minute of the contest. A close defensive battle featured just four shots in the first 15 minutes of action.

Princeton secured the first corner of the contest in the second frame, but Ali McCarthy's deflection was wide of the cage. The Huskies' first threat was on a give-and-go in the circle, but Baylis kicked away the ball from Olivia Clarke.

Connecticut produced the first goal of the game right before halftime. Kourtney Kennedy's shot, off a corner, hit a Princeton player and went into the cage. Despite the score, game was evenly matched in the first half as Princeton held a 5-4 shot advantage.

Baylis made another big save on a UConn corner halfway through the third stanza while Ophélie Bemelmans just missed a goal the next time down the field as her deflection was off the mark.

The senior captain goalie for the Tigers contributed two more denials right before the end of the third quarter to keep the score within one.

Princeton tried for the equalizer early in the fourth stanza off a corner. Julianna Tornetta's blast was stopped by Sprecher and the bouncing ball in front of an open cage was just out of the reach of Clara Roth's stick. Roth recovered and sent the ball in, but Sprecher, again, blocked it.

Connecticut thought it had an insurance tally as Baylis came out for a save on a corner, but the ball hit the stick of Autumn Brown before crossing the line as the clock ticked near eight minutes remaining.

Little more than 60 seconds later, Emma Street found MaryKate Neff with a 1v1 chance on Sprecher, but the Huskies' goalie denied it.

Princeton picked up a corner chance at the 3:13 mark of the fourth quarter. Roth inserted to Sammy Popper and the freshman's attempt was deflected in by Tornetta.

AND WE'RE TIED!

Julianna deflects Sammy's shot on the corner and we're tied with 2 minutes to go!

Watch: https://t.co/GPiqIXaAq7 pic.twitter.com/0k2YHfuZcT
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) September 22, 2019

Neither team could produce a shot before Boker's game-winner. The two top-ten foes combined for 26 shots (UConn 15-11) and nine corners (UConn 6-3). The Huskies improved to 7-1 overall while the Tigers dropped to 3-3 this season. Head coach Carla Tagliente's unit heads on the road Tuesday to play No. 3 Maryland (6 p.m.).