The Women’s Soccer Team lost 3-5 to UCF on Friday, Sept. 30. Elena Santos (20) scored the first 2 goals and Sophia Danyko-Kulchycky (23) scored the third goal. Their next home game is on 10/18 against Memphis. Photo by Eric Wang, Staff Photographer/The Daily Campus
The UConn women’s soccer team has two home games this week, facing off against Memphis on Thursday and Tulsa on Sunday.
The Huskies have played just one game in the month of October due to an off week and Hurricane Michael postponing a game at East Carolina. In their one game, the Huskies were dominant, defeating the previously 6-7-3 Cincinnati Bearcats 4-0.
The victory was due in large part to a hat trick by sophomore midfielder Sophia Danyko-Kulchcky, otherwise known as DK. This was the first multi-goal game of DK’s career, and her seven points were also a career high. Her seven goals and 15 points each lead the team.
The Huskies will look to carry some of the momentum over into their first game of the week vs Memphis, who is 12-3 so far this season and third in the American. Most recently, the Tigers are coming off back-to-back 2-0 losses to UCF and USF, who are both tied for the conference lead.
The Tigers are led by sophomore forwards Samantha Murphy (nine goals, 19 points) and Clarissa Larisey (eight goals, 20 points). The two of them account for nearly 50 percent of all of Memphis’ goals.
On Sunday the Huskies will host the 6-8-1 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. They are currently on a three-game losing streak and, like Memphis, have just lost back-to-back games to USF and UCF.
Junior and freshman forwards Anna Williams and Mia Darden are tied for the team lead with seven goals apiece, while the rest of the team has combined for just 11. Williams has the edge on Darden in points 18-16 due to a two-assist lead. The next highest is junior forward Valiree Morris, who has six points.
In order for the Huskies to come out on top this weekend and remain undefeated in October, they will need to find a way to shut down each team’s respective duos.
Both games will take place at home, with Thursday’s game starting at 7 p.m. and Sunday’s at 1 p.m.
Jorge Eckardt is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at jorge.eckardt@uconn.edu.
