UConn women’s soccer forward Liana Hinds prepares to kick the ball during the Huskies’ game against Temple at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium on Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Amar Batra/The Daily Campus)
The UConn Huskies women’s soccer team was able to overcome a sloppy start to defeat Temple 1-0 at a rain soaked Morrone Stadium on Friday.
Forward Rachel Hill scored the deciding goal for the Huskies in the 37th minute when she fired a shot from the right side of the box that went through the hands of Temple goalkeeper Jordan Nash. The goal was Hill’s ninth of the season and freshman forward Kim Urbanek was credited with the assist.
The conference win was extra special to the Huskies as they try to keep pace in the American standings.
“It was tough at first, a little bit scary, but it is good we got the win,” Hill said. “Getting those points means so much, especially at home.”
In the early going Temple was the clear aggressor as they were able to create multiple scoring opportunities. Just two minutes into the game Temple’s Gabriella McKeown had a chance inside the box but her shot trickled just wide of the post and out of play.
In the fifth minute Temple had another golden chance that they were unable to capitalize on. Kayla Cunningham launched a shot from 30 yards out that hit the top off the crossbar and deflected out of play.
The Huskies offense was slow to get going as it took them 25 minutes to even attempt a shot. While Temple’s offense was the aggressor, UConn goalkeeper Emily Armstrong picked up the slack for the Huskies.
Armstrong had five saves in the game in an effort that did not go unnoticed to UConn head coach Len Tsantiris.
“They tested her,” Tsantiris said. “She’s good and she’s coming up big and she was lucky her friend the post helped her.”
UConn’s first scoring chance came in the 32nd minute when Andrea Plucenik had a couple of chances from in close in the box. Nash was able to deflect her first shot and Plucenik’s second attempt from 8 yards out went wide right.
The Huskies went into the break with a 1-0 lead despite Temple having an 8-7 advantage in shot attempts.
In the second half UConn took complete control of the game. The Huskies had a couple more scoring chances from the duo of Hill and Stephanie Ribeiro but they were unable to come away with a second goal.
The Huskies did dominate possession however, as Temple was limited to just 2 shot attempt in the second half, which did not come until the 90th minute.
UConn improved to 2-1 in the conference with the win. Their next shot to earn more points will come on Thursday when they host East Carolina.
“The trait of a good team is that you win these games and find a way to win,” Tsantiris said. “Three points is three points.”
Spencer Mayfield is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at spencer.mayfield@uconn.edu.