A difficult loss to the top-ranked Xavier Musketeers on Sunday, Oct. 8 set the University of Connecticut back from the momentum it had been gaining beforehand. Now, the Huskies look to get back on track this week against DePaul at 7 p.m. Thursday and Butler at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Blue Demons should present a good comeback game for the Huskies, as they sit at the bottom of the Big East with a 2-11 record. DePaul’s offense isn’t at the same level of UConn’s, and defensively they’re ranked dead last as well. They are coming off a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Butler, the team that the Huskies will play three days later. The Huskies lost to the Blue Demons last year, breaking their perfect all-time streak of seven victories over DePaul.
DePaul sophomore Katie Godden, a forward from Surrey, England, will be a key player to watch and important for the Huskies to contain. She’s scored in each of her last two matches, and ranks fourth in the conference with four goals to her name. She also boasts three assists, which places her at seventh in that category. Sophomore forward Susie Soderstrom will be another name to watch, as she tends to find the back of the net in games where Godden doesn’t.
Meanwhile, the Butler Bulldogs look to pose a relatively close matchup. They have also won more in conference play, winning three games to the Huskies’ two. This places them higher in the standings, thanks to their higher point total as a result of playing more games. The offenses are evenly matched, but it’s the Huskies’ defense that will likely be the tiebreaker here.
Redshirt senior Katie Soderstrom, the sister of Susie Soderstrom, is the one to look out for when the Huskies face the Bulldogs. She ranks sixth all-time in points for Butler, and has been on the all-Big East team three times. The forward is first in the conference in shots, a full 15 ahead of the next highest player. Unsurprisingly, she is first in goals as well. Redshirt junior Abigail Isger and freshman Talia Sommer are additional names to look for, with both also being among the highest scorers in the league.
Despite coming off a loss, there is much to look forward to for the Huskies this week. Junior Jada Konte now leads the team in points with 11, as she has become an exciting player to watch on the offensive end. Sophomore Abby Jones is close behind Konte with 10 points, much of that coming from distributing the ball. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Mahoney remains in the top five in the conference for save percentage and saves per game. If Mahoney stays strong, the Huskies could very well snatch both games this week.
Catch the Huskies’ kickoff at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. Both games will also be livestreamed on FloSports.
