Spring Break
No Opponent Too Small
Field Hockey: Bobcats Up Next For No. 4 Huskies
Jake Goldberg
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Sports
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"Every team has something good about them no matter what their record is. We will try to design our game-plan around what Quinnipiac is good at," said head coach Nancy Stevens.
The Huskies look to meet every challenge that awaits them. Being No. 4 in the nation puts them in an elite class of teams but Stevens knows that every team comes to play.
"When you are supposed to win, sometimes it can be hard," Stevens said.
"It's a mid-day game that doesn't have that feel of a night game, and we don't want to fall into that trap when we go to play them," Stevens said.
The Huskies record shows that they haven't been snared in many traps this season.
The Huskies will have to stay focused on the game at hand rather than looking down the schedule to a more meaningful one.
However, there are some things to look forward to during this game.
"It's the first time we get to play on their new field. We have never played down there; they have always come up to play us," Stevens said.
The field here at UConn is 13 years old and not in the shape of the one that the Huskies will be playing on come Tuesday.
With a improved watering system and new turf the field should see some quality play from the Huskies and Bobcats.
"We try each week to look at the team with fresh eyes to see if we can get better," Stevens said.
The mindset of always getting better has propelled the Huskies to their terrific start. Tweaking the team never lets their opponents get a feel for how the Huskies play; all they know is they will be seeing something different from what they viewed on tape.
The UConn defense, which let up two goals in their last game against UMass, would like nothing more than to shut the Bobcat offense out.
"We want to be even stronger on defense. Our defense has a lot of pride, and we want a clean sheet," Stevens said.
The clean sheet refers to having a clean box-score after the game is done with no goals for the other team.
Being ranked fourth in the nation according to the NFHCA means you don't just beat the best teams, it means you beat everyone. The Huskies don't give away games no matter what their record is, as Stevens said earlier in the season, "the biggest game of the season is always the one right in front of you, you can't overlook anyone. The ball on the field doesn't see rankings."
Contact Jake Goldberg at Jacob.Goldberg@UConn.edu.
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