The No. 9 American  University field hockey team will face No. 5 Connecticut in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, November 13 in College Park, Md., at 2:00 p.m.

American (18-3, 5-0) earned an automatic berth into the tournament by defeating Kent State earlier in the day, 2-1. The Eagles scored two first-half goals off the sticks of Lotte van de Mierop and Jenn Bradley, then held off a late charge by the Golden Flashes to preserve the victory. This marks the third straight year American has earned a trip to the tournament and is the program's seventh trip in eight years.

UConn (15-5, 4-2) will be making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament as one of eight at-large selections. The Huskies finished as runners-up in the BIG EAST after falling to No. 4 Syracuse in the conference final, 1-0. They are led by BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Melissa Gonzalez and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Sarah Mansfield.

UConn holds a 2-0 advantage over American in the all-time series with the last meeting between the teams taking place on September 5, 1998. The Eagles have faced five of the 16 teams in this year's tournament, posting a record of 3-2.

American is 2-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in College Park, earning victories over Penn State, 3-2, and Iowa, 2-1, in 2004 and 2005 to make the program's first two trips to the Elite Eight. American has already played three times at Maryland this season and holds a 2-1 record in those contests.

The winner of Saturday's match will face either No. 1 Maryland or No. 18 Massachusetts on Sunday, November 14, at 2:00 p.m. with a berth into the Final Four on the line. American defeated then No. 20 UMass on September 18 of this year 2-0 at Jacobs Field but fell 3-0 at No. 1 Maryland on October 20.

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