UConn women’s soccer forward Rachel Hill (3) chests the ball during the Huskies’ game against Syracuse at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. (Jason Jiang/The Daily Campus)
After pulling off a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Harvard on Sunday, the UConn women’s soccer team improved their record to 5-0-0.
This is the hottest start that the team has had since the 1998 season, where the Huskies finished the year 21-2-2.
UConn will look to keep the momentum going when they welcome Army West Point to Joseph J. Morrone stadium tonight as they hope to keep the winning streak alive.
Although it is too early to make comparisons between the two teams, the 2015 UConn team seems to have found a formula that has been working.
“We got the size, we’ve got depth,” UConn coach Len Tsantiris said after their victory over Harvard. “Most of the players are fit which wasn’t the case in the past so that is helping.”
UConn’s depth has certainly been on display this season on the offense end as seven players have already scored goals for the Huskies.
UConn junior forward Rachel Hill is the team-leading scorer with five goals this season. Hill’s outstanding play is no surprise to Tsantiris based on her work ethic.
“Rachel, she works, there is nothing else I could say,” Tsantiris said. “She has the skill, she anticipates. She has a sense and explosion that is very rare.”
The Huskies have also been able to overcome an injury to senior defender Megan Hunsberger. The back line has remained solid since Hunsberger went down against Syracuse, only allowing one goal since the injury.
The defensive success is in large part due to the strength of the season goalkeeper, Emily Armstrong. Armstrong has made 24 saves this season while only allowing five goals.
Although they are off to a fast start, the Huskies are still taking things one day at a time.
“We just are working hard at practice and listening to what we are told,” McGuire said when asked about the team’s early success. “If we do something wrong, we aren’t getting down about it, we are just keeping our heads and going on to the next step. Yeah, we might be 5-0, but next game it doesn’t mean anything so it has to be the same stuff for each game.”
Spencer Mayfield is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at spencer.mayfield@uconn.edu.
