Field Hockey Wins Mercian Cup For Second Straight Season
Huskies best Northeastern, Maine, Providence and Boston College en route to crown

STORRS, Conn. (April 19, 2005) - The University of Connecticut field hockey team captured the Mercian Cup Eastern Spring League Championship after defeating four top New England region collegiate foes over the past three weekends.

UConn dominated the competition with victories against Northeastern (3-0), Maine (5-1), Providence (4-1) and Boston College (3-2).

Returning All-America choices Rebecca Helwig (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and Melissa Bostwick (San Diego, Calif.) led the Huskies on defense as they limited their competition to four goals over the four contests.

Junior forward Meagan Hoffman (West Granby, Conn.) tallied two goals and sophomore forward Lizzy Peijs' (Breda, Holland) added a goal and an assist to spark UConn to the win against Boston College for the tournament title.

This is the second consecutive season that Connecticut has captured the Mercian Cup Eastern Spring League Championship crown.

During the three weekends of competition, the Huskies also competed in two exhibition matches against the U.S. Regional Training Team which included six members of the U.S. Men's Senior and Junior National Teams.

The Huskies gave a strong effort despite facing some of the nation's top male players, but the Regional Team defeated the Huskies in both meetings 2-1 and 1-0.

The Huskies open the 2005 season on Saturday, August 20 when they host the annual Blue and White Game beginning at 11:00 a.m. (ET) at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.