UConn v Old Dominion: The Big East Final Nobody Saw Coming
Two weeks ago UConn beat Old Dominion 3-0 in Norfolk and finished the Big East regular season perfect. On paper, Sunday’s final should be a coronation. But Old Dominion just knocked out the defending champions, and that changes everything.
The Big East final is Sunday, noon ET (10pm PKT), at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, live on ESPN+. No. 1 seed UConn against No. 3 seed Old Dominion, with the league’s automatic NCAA bid on the line.
UConn: the machine
The Huskies are 15-1 and ranked No. 3 in the country. They won the regular-season title, their 21st, with a perfect 6-0 league record. Friday’s semifinal was textbook UConn: three scoreless quarters against Villanova, then Lucy Zich, the Big East Freshman and Co-Offensive Player of the Year, broke through in the 53rd minute for a 1-0 win.
That’s how UConn win games. They don’t blow teams away. They squeeze them until something gives. They’ve held their last few opponents scoreless, and the only team to put more than one goal past them in weeks was Liberty back in September.
They also have last year to avenge. Liberty beat them 2-1 in overtime in the 2025 final. The Huskies won’t say it out loud, but this season has had a revenge mission feel to it from the start.
Old Dominion: the upset artists
The Monarchs weren’t supposed to be here. They finished 3-3 in the league, needed a tiebreaker to get the No. 3 seed, and lost 2-0 to Liberty on 2 October. On Friday night they beat those same Flames 1-0 in the semifinal, ending Liberty’s title defence and booking ODU’s first Big East final since 2023.
That 2023 run ended with ODU’s first ever Big East title. So the Monarchs know what this stage feels like, and they know how to win it. They’re 14-4 now, and they arrive in Philadelphia with nothing to lose and a game plan that just worked against the second seed.
The rematch problem
Here’s the thing, though. UConn already beat this team 3-0, on ODU’s own turf, two weeks ago. The Huskies are better in every department on paper: better record, better defence, better form, and they own the head-to-head.
But finals don’t care about paper. ODU have just beaten the team that beat UConn in last year’s final. They’ve got momentum, belief, and a free hit at the best team in the league. If they can keep it tight for three quarters the way Villanova did on Friday, one goal changes everything.
For our money, UConn win this. They’re the best team in the conference by a distance and they’ve been building to this all season. But Old Dominion have already ruined one favourite’s weekend. Don’t be shocked if they make the Huskies sweat for it.
