UConn Field Hockey Wins 2013 National Championship

The UConn Field Hockey team finally got over the hump Sunday afternoon, beating Duke 2-0 to claim the program's first National Championship in nearly 30 years.

While I can't claim to be an expert on the sport of field hockey, it seemed clear even to me that UConn dominated this game pretty much wire to wire. The Huskies scored two quick goals off of penalty corners in the first half, the first by Chloe Hunnable and the second by McKenzie Townsend, and in the second half the Husky defense held strong as Duke fought to get back into the game.

Overall, Duke was 0-for-9 on penalty corners (which are truly a sight to behold if you're not familiar, truly a fantastic display of organized chaos) and UConn senior goalkeeper Sarah Mansfield recorded the shutout to end her career with a title.

The win also marks a new height for UConn head coach Nancy Stevens, who became the sport's all-time winningest coach earlier this year but had previously found a title to be elusive. Stevens has been UConn's head coach since 1990, and despite reaching the Final Four five times with UConn prior to this year, her teams had never even reached the championship game, much less won it.

Now, Stevens will have a championship trophy of her own to set besides the program's trophies from 1981 and 1985. The field hockey team also becomes the first non-basketball program to win a national championship since the men's soccer team won it all in 2000.