The Wildcat field hockey team fell to the No. 7 Connecticut Huskies by a score of 4-0 on Nov. 1 at Villanova Stadium. The loss marked the final game for Villanova senior Sam Coveleski. The Wildcats end the season 12-7, 2-4 in Big East conference play.

Freshman Cara Silverman started the scoring for the Huskies at the 26:54 mark of the first half off a feed from senior Lindsey Leck. The tally was Silverman’s fifth of the season.

Connecticut added its second score in the 39th minute when Lauren Aird buried a rebound, putting her team up by two.

Wildcat sophomore Dana Ramsden could have cut the lead in half but was denied by Husky junior goalkeeper Andrea Mainiero on a penalty shot.

Leck put away a penalty shot at the 49:46 mark, giving the Huskies a 3-0 advantage.

With just under three minutes left, Aird added her second goal of the game and 17th of the season to put Connecticut up 4-0.

Connecticut out shot the ‘Cats by a count of 15-8 and was awarded seven penalty corners to the Villanova Wildcat’s three.

Mainiero preserved the shutout, giving her six for the season and tying her with Villanova sophomore goalkeeper Maura McCormick for most in the conference.

McCormick made seven saves in the final contest. She ends with a season total of 95 saves and a 1.61 goals against average.

With the win, Connecticut (16-2, 5-1) captured a share of the Big East regular season title for the 11th time in program history and seventh in the past nine seasons. It shares a three-way tie for best regular-season record with Syracuse and Louisville. The Huskies advance to the Big East Conference tournament, where they will be joined by Louisville, Syracuse and Providence. The victory over Villanova was career win 300 for Connecticut Head Coach Nancy Stevens.

As a team comprised primarily of freshmen and sophomores, the Wildcats were a young squad and look to improve with another year of experience. The Wildcats will lose their only senior co-captain Sam Coveleski. Coveleski led a Wildcat defense that only allowed 30 goals and 219 shots in 19 games.

In addition to her strong season in ’08, Coveleski has been an impact player for the Wildcats ever since she set foot on campus. She started 14 of the 20 games she played during her freshman year and went on to start all 38 games in the next two seasons.

The senior from Lewes, Del., with graduate in the spring will a degree in biology.