The Huskies were able to redeem their 1-0 defeat at the hands of their inter-state rival Yale last season, with a 2-1 victory of their own tonight.
Connecticut continues to find their stride with just one game remaining before conference play beings on Sunday, Sept. 22.
A goal was scored in the first three minutes of play during the previous two games for the UConn women’s soccer team. It looked like that streak was bound to continue in the third minute when in the fray of action, Tanner Cahalan of Yale had an opening at the goal. The ball was moving too much for her to properly handle it and it became a goal kick for Connecticut.
UConn then took the ball and ran from there, either controlling it or keeping it near midfield for the rest of the half.
Captain Lucy Cappadona was fouled by Tina Teik, giving the Huskies a free kick. Anna Carson floated in the free kick to Laci Lewis who had an open look at the net. Lewis hit the post, missing her first career goal.
Transfer Lina Dantes looked like she was on the verge of a one-on-one with the goalie before she fell in the box. No foul was called but many Huskies thought it should have resulted in a penalty shot for them.
Just after the 20-minute mark, Chioma Okafor took the ball at midfield and ran with it. She broke past the defender on the left side, creating a one on one with the goalie. Okafor then drew the goalie out of the net, allowing her to get an unassisted chip in goal to put UConn up 1-0. That goal was the fifth of the season for Okafor.
A few minutes later, Okafor stole the ball from a Bulldog and took it at the keeper again. The on-target shot was saved by the first-year goalie Anna Shamgochain.
Dantes found Maddie Fried on the next possession, but the momentum was halted by Yale. Later in the half, another free kick from Carson went off the head of Cappadona to her captain counterpart, Abbey Jones, who had a defender draped all over her and was not able to finish the goal.
The 34th minute saw the second goal for the Huskies by none other than Okafor. Cappadona sent a free kick into the box where Okafor got her head on it enough to flip it over the goalie who had left the net. Okafor then tipped the ball in for good measure, becoming her sixth goal of the season which matches her total from last season in just seven contests.
Sophie McCarthy sent a UConn corner kick straight to Naia Ocio, but her header was stalled by Yale.
The best opportunity for Yale came right before the end of the first half as Cahalan made a move away from her defender for a shot on goal, which was deflected by a Husky and then smartly punched up and out of bounds by Kaitlyn Mahoney. Connecticut took a promising 2-0 lead into halftime.
Yale caught a tough break at the start of the second half when Teik, who had already been called for two fouls, kicked Cappadona in the face inadvertently. Cappadona was bleeding from the nose, but she was able to stay in the game. After referee review, Teik was shown a red card and subsequently removed from the match. This meant the Bulldogs would be playing down a player and that Teik, a starter, would miss the next game as well.
Jones pushed the pace the other way for UConn in the minutes following. Jones found Dates who was pressured by a defender, but her shot was too high and went sailing out of bounds.
Jones was once again in the center of the action as a Husky crossed a pass to her. The senior sent a perfect header to Okafor who was looking for a hattrick. Okafor looked poised for her third goal before a diving save was made by Shamgochain.
The momentum would shift Yale’s way in the 57th minute as a sloppy exchange near the UConn box sent the ball right to Vienna Lundstedt, who put it in the back of the net making the score 2-1 Huskies. The Bulldogs had seemed to have gained their confidence back, pushing the issue for the minutes to come.
Connecticut’s next chance came eight minutes later as Kelly Monaco took a shot from right outside of the box, but it did not bend enough and landed on top of the net. Another chance came as Okafor looked like she was bound for another breakaway verses the goalie, however any chance she might have had was taken away by a late offsides call.
Chioma made yet another exceptional play, stealing the ball from Yale and centering a pass for Abbey Jones. The pass was hit out of bounds by a Bulldog defender and resulted in a corner kick for the Huskies.
The 88th minute saw a last-ditch effort from Yale as Ashley Kirschner tried to take it all the way, but her shot was saved by Mahoney with good defense from Carson and Cappadona. Yale’s last chance came on a free kick one minute later, but it was grabbed by Mahoney.
Once the time expired, the Huskies added another win to their five-victory streak. Okafor continues her amazing season with four goals in the last two games alone while the defense continues their stellar play with the late miscue only being the second goal allowed since August 22nd.
UConn hosts the powerful Texas A&M team at Morrone Stadium this Sunday at 1 p.m.