No. 1 Huskies to Host Michigan State, No. 5 Michigan

Coverage	vs. Michigan State	vs. Michigan
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STORRS, Conn. – The No. 1 UConn field hockey team (2-0) takes the field at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex for the first time in 2018 as the Huskies host Michigan State (1-1) Friday at 5 p.m. and No. 5 Michigan (0-2) Sunday at noon.

Huskies Open Season with Two Wins
UConn began the 2018 slate with two wins over ranked teams last weekend in Evanston, Ill. The Huskies defeated No. 12 Northwestern, 4-2, with two-goal performances from sophomore Jessica Dembrowski and freshman Karo Kueskes. Junior Svea Boker finished the game with three assists.

UConn blanked No. 15 Stanford, 3-0, last Saturday. Kueskes, fifth year Cecile Pieper and freshman Abby Gooderham each scored for the Huskies.

Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State went 1-1 in its opening season, falling 2-0 to Old Dominion before beating Kent State in overtime, 3-2. Three Spartans lead the team with one goal each: Aisha Osinga, Isa van der Weij and Kelsey Keener. Goalkeeper Jade Arundell has played every minute in cage for Michigan State and leads the team with 10 saves and a .714 save percentage.

Scouting the Wolverines
Fifth-ranked Michigan went 0-2 in the first weekend of the season. The Wolverines fell to No. 2 North Carolina, 5-1, before being upset by No. 14 Wake Forest, 3-2. Halle O'Neil leads Michigan with two goals. Goalkeepers Sidonie LaPlante and Anna Spieker have split time in cage. LaPlante holds a 3.25 goals against average and .571 save percentage while Spieker has a 7.91 goals against average and 500 save percentage.

Kueskes Earns Weekly Honors
After helping the Huskies to two wins over ranked teams in last weekend, back Karo Kueskes was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. She scored three goals and had one assist in the first two games of the year and currently leads UConn with seven points. The Moenchengladback, Germany, native also earned Longstreth/NFHCA honorable mention for her debut games.

UConn Stat Leaders

Goals	Karo Kueskes (3)
Assists	Svea Boker (3)
Points	Karo Kueskes (7)
Shots	Cecile Pieper (12)
Saves	Cheyenne Sprecher (5)

Statistically Speaking…
UConn currently ranks 10^th nationally with 3.50 goals per game and is eighth in the country with a 2.50 scoring margin. The Huskies are also ninth with 8.50 penalty corners per game.

Freshman Karo Kueskes is ranked sixth nationally with 1.50 goals per game and junior Svea Boker is fourth with 1.50 assists per game.

In the Rankings
The Huskies are ranked No. 1 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. Michigan is currently ranked No. 5. The Wolverines are the third ranked opponent for UConn this season.

UConn Named BIG EAST Favorites
For the ninth straight season, the Huskies were predicted to finish first in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll. UConn has won five straight BIG EAST titles and are on a 25-game regular season win streak in conference play, dating back to 2013.

Senior Amanda Collins and junior Svea Boker were named preseason All-BIG EAST. Collins, also captain for the upcoming season, was tabbed preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

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Players Mentioned

Svea Boker

Amanda Collins

Jessica Dembrowski

Abby Gooderham

Karo Kueskes

Cecile Pieper

Cheyenne Sprecher

University of Connecticut Athletics