After a thrilling draw in the conference opener versus St. John’s, UConn heads to Cincinnati to face Xavier on Thursday. In the three prior matchups dating back to UConn’s reentrance into the Big East in 2021, Connecticut is winless against the conference foe, losing all three matches by a score of 1-0.
The Musketeers stand at a record of 8-1-1 and have a very impressive resume to bout. With wins against Michigan, Dayton and Cincinnati, a draw against No. 4-ranked Michigan State and a one-goal loss to No. 23 ranked Saint Louis, Xavier is battle tested for Big East Play. On Sunday, Xavier opened their Big East season with a 3-0 victory at home against DePaul.
Sharing the regular season Big East title with Georgetown was the highlight of last season for Xavier 14-4-4 (6-0-4 in conference play). The Hoyas defeated the Musketeers 1-0 in the Big East title game, earning an NCAA tournament berth.
Xavier is returning multiple players who played for an All-Big East team last season. Defender Natalie Bain was the only Musketeer on the first team last season. The junior is joined by goalkeeper Maria Galley, who earned second team honors last year and is coming off winning the Big East Goalkeeper of the Week award. Samantha Wiehe is entering her senior campaign in the midfield after a second team appearance. Maddie Reed rounds out the awardees as a graduate student. Xavier’s coaching staff was also awarded the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year for their efforts in 2023.
UConn has still not lost a fixture since Aug. 22. Since then, they have won six straight matches until walking away with a tie on Sunday against St. John’s. After finishing third in the Big East standings last season, Connecticut is looking to use their experience and youth to make a run at a Big East Tournament championship.
After scoring two or more goals in her last six contests, Chioma Okafor has been running the pitch. The third team All-American has already surpassed her goal total from last season with seven goals after nine games. She has also tallied two assists, bringing her season point total to 16.
Assists have been a mainstay of UConn’s approach this season, as 17 of the 22 Husky goals this season have been assisted on. Senior Joyce Ryder leads the way with three assists, including one on a corner kick this weekend. Other Huskies with multiple assists include Laci Lewis and the captain tandem of Lucy Cappadona and Abbey Jones.
Sophomore Anaya Johnson has returned to the lineup after a month hiatus, as she represented Team Canada in the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. Johnson saw action in three of Canada’s four games, including Canada’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spain in the round of 16. Johnson made her presence felt immediately with a goal and an assist in her return versus Texas A&M. She played all 90 minutes against St. John’s and provided great play on both sides of the field.
The reigning Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, Kaitlyn Mahoney, faces a tough task with the Xavier offense. The Musketeers have scored two or more goals in all but one of their games. Mahoney’s average goals allowed per game is 1.03, and she’s made 22 saves this season after recording one on Sunday.
Defense and goalkeeping will be crucial in a highly anticipated bout this Thursday.
The game will begin at 7 p.m. and fans can tune in to FloSports to catch the Huskies in action.