Field Hockey Set for BIG EAST Championships
November 06, 2008 | Field Hockey
Nov. 6, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
The second-seeded University of Louisville field hockey team is set to play third-seeded Connecticut on Saturday, November 8 at 1:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2008 BIG EAST Field Hockey. The winner of that game will face the winner of top-seeded Syracuse and the No. 4 seed Providence College Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be held at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex.
U of L (14-5) earned its third straight BIG EAST Co-Championship after tying with UConn and Syracuse with 5-1 records in league play. In the regular season, Syracuse beat Louisville 3-0, U of L beat Connecticut 3-1 and UConn handed the Orange their only loss, a 1-0 decision.
The Cardinals are currently No. 13 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, dropping one spot after beating Indiana 2-1 and Georgetown 11-0 to close the season. Sophomore co-captain Nicole Youman leads the team with 26 points, including a team-high 10 assists. Sophomore Tuli Lim has scored a team-leading 11 goals, registering one in the last three games. The Cards have won 14 games in each of the past three seasons. The school record for wins is 16 and was set in 2001.
Sixth-ranked Connecticut is the No. 3 seed and enters the championship with a 16-2 record and a 5-1 mark in BIG EAST action. For the 11th time in the program's history, UConn has garnered a share of the BIG EAST regular season title. The Huskies
The teams met during the regular season on Sept. 27 at Trager Stadium when Louisville defeated then-fourth-ranked Connecticut for the first time in eight meetings. Senior Lauren Schaefer scored two goals and sophomore Nikki Auker added the final score.
This will be the third time the Cards and the Huskies have met in the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament with the previous two meetings decided in overtime. In 2005, the Huskies defeated Louisville 1-0 in OT at Rutgers. In 2006, UConn scored two goals in the second half to overcome a 2-0 deficit and beat U of L 3-2 in OT.
Syracuse and Providence will face off in the first semifinal game on Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. Syracuse earned the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship. Syracuse ends the regular season with a 18-1 overall mark, with the 18 victories being a program best. Syracuse is enjoying its most successful year in program history having earned its first ever No. 1 ranking in the NFHCA Poll on Oct. 14. Louisville and Syracuse have never met in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament.
Providence brings a 12-8 overall record and 3-3 BIG EAST mark into the Championship. The Friars earned the No. 4 seed on Oct. 26 after defeating Georgetown 6-2. It marks the first time Providence has made appearances at the BIG EAST Championship in three consecutive seasons since doing so from 1996-98. In 2007, Providence defeated Louisville 2-0 in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
The championship game will take place on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. for the title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Fans can follow all the action live online at www.BIGEAST.tv
Fans can follow all the action live online at www.BIGEAST.tv.
