When Nancy Stevens thinks rivalry, few schools come off the top of her head. Penn State, North Carolina, Maryland. Teams that have beaten, and been beaten by, the head coach’s Connecticut field hockey team. Back and forth. Year after year.

‘We’ve had tremendous success (over Syracuse) over the years,’ Stevens said. ‘I think in our player’s minds, that’s not a rivalry.’

Since 1983, Syracuse had won only five games over the Huskies in 29 matches (5-23-1). But Sunday, SU head coach Ange Bradley and the Orange turned the tables – winning 1-0 over UConn in the Big East Championship. Bradley considers this the start of something new.

‘Now, clearly, the rivalry has begun,’ Stevens said.

Sunday’s win broke UConn’s four-year streak as Big East champions and is the first for Bradley since taking the reins at Syracuse in 2007. The win comes after the Orange was upset by the Huskies last month and a year since UConn knocked the Orange out in the semifinals of the Big East tournament.

‘There’s definitely a rivalry,’ senior back Brittany Shannon said.

The past receded Sunday afternoon. After winning the championship, the first thing that rushed to Bradley’s mind was last year. The memory’s pristine, she said. The clock over J.S. Coyne Field running out, Bradley thanking her seniors, then watching as the Huskies celebrated its advancement to the Big East championship game.

Bradley told her team they would see UConn again.

Sunday, Stevens watched as Bradley and the Orange sang anthems to their new title.Only a month ago, Stevens had celebrated an ‘ironic’ upset at J.S. Coyne Field. SU had dominated statistically, but Connecticut pulled away with a win. The same happened Sunday, when the Huskies fell short, despite having more shots on goal and penalty corners.

‘Syracuse wasn’t rewarded when we played them at their place, and today we weren’t rewarded,’ Stevens said. ‘It’s a rivalry, but it’s a good thing for our conference.’

According to the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) – a criteria which takes primarily a team’s strength of schedule and record to determine the Division I tournament seeds – SU is ranked at No. 3 and Connecticut at No. 4, behind Maryland and Wake Forest, respectively.

‘It shows the Big East is a really tough conference. We’re one of the top two conferences in the country,’ Bradley said. ‘We’re making hockey better, so the win goes beyond Syracuse. It helps the Big East.’

Teams from the ACC have won the past six national championships. The last Big East team to hold the title is the Huskies, who won it 23 years ago. The NCAA selection committee announced Tuesday night that Syracuse will be the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and host its opening round matchup. Should the Orange win, it will host a second round game, as well. Connecticut and Louisville have also been invited to the tournament from the Big East.

Bradley spoke briefly to Stevens after the Big East championship about the possibility of seeing one another again at the Big East tournament. She felt relief when Connecticut was placed in a different bracket. If the two rivals do play again this year, it will be in a national championship game.

‘If we get them at the (NCAA) tournament, great, Shannon said. ‘It’s always great to play UConn and beat UConn.’

edpaik@syr.edu

Published on November 11, 2008 at 12:00 pm