The Huskies were unable to avenge last season’s 1-0 loss to Georgetown in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. UConn remains winless in the Big East with two draws and one loss.
The action started early as Lina Dantes looked like she had Georgetown goalie Cara Martin out of position, but her shot was way too high and out of bounds. Dantes later found Abbey Jones, but the captain’s shot was saved by Martin.
In the sixth minute, Lizzie Heller of Georgetown sent a shot from behind the box towards the direction of the UConn goal. The ball traveled over the head of Kaitlyn Mahoney and into the back corner of the net to put the Hoyas up 1-0.
Laci Lewis tried to respond by pushing the pace for the Huskies, but her pass, intended for Jones, was grabbed by a diving Martin.
After a few possessions, Georgetown took the ball up the right side of the pitch, where Henely Tippins made a brilliant pass to Maja Lardner. The Texas native had an open shot and just enough space to send the ball past the dive of Mahoney and into the bottom left corner for a second Hoyas’ goal. Moments later, Georgetown nearly made the goal 3-0, but Shay Montgomery’s shot was scooped up by Mahoney.
Connecticut was finally able to get some offensive action when Jones sped down the right side of the field and placed a beautiful ball to Chioma Okafor. The UConn star easily beat her defender and shot it past Martin on the breakaway. Okafor’s ninth goal of the season cut the Georgetown lead to one.
Okafor had another opportunity in the first half, but her shot was a little too high and floated out of bounds. Once again, Okafor made a play down the sideline and connected with Sophie McCarthy. McCarthy quickly found Taylor Jenkins who got a shot off. Unfortunately, the shot faded wide left.
Mary Cochran of Georgetown took a corner kick right before the half ended. Her kick found Lawson Renie, whose shot was saved by Mahoney. UConn faced a promising 2-1 deficit at the end of the first half.
The Huskies had a scoring attempt right away in the second half as an uncleared ball found Dantes right inside of the box. Dantes barely got a foot on it, and the ball was covered by the new Georgetown goalie, Anna Karpenko.
The Hoyas then looked prone for a two-on-one goal, but Tippins took too long to find Claire Manning as her shot was corralled by Mahoney. Eliza Turner also had an opportunity but her shot dribbled too far left and resulted in a Connecticut goal kick.
Moments later, UConn was called offsides after Joyce Ryder passed to Okafor. Both Okafor and Jones were in the area, but the call stopped any chance of the two recreating the magic of the first goal.
Lucy Cappadonna was given a yellow card, resulting in a Georgetown free kick. Renie sent a header in the direction of the goal, and into the hands of Mahoney.
Maddie Fried then had a header of her own for Connecticut, but it was saved by Karpenko. Jones took a chance from outside of the box, but the England native’s shot went well out of bounds. Fried had another chance when she took it past her defender on the left side and found Jones whose shot was scooped up by Karpenko.
Georgetown had the Huskies on the ropes in the 65th minute as the Hoyas crossed the ball into the center of the box. Tippins got a piece of her head on it, and her shot banged off the top of the crossbar. A rebound shot from Georgetown went flying out of bounds and the Huskies kept the deficit at one for the time being. The tide would change not long after, as Natalie Means drove past Anna Carson and flicked the ball past an outstretched Mahoney and in for the third Hoyas goal of the game. Mahoney would eventually be replaced by senior Marykate Ward for the remaining ten minutes of the game.
UConn’s best opportunity of the second half came when Okafor found Fried, who then went one-on-one with the Georgetown goaltender. Fried’s first touch went array and she barely made a recovery on the ball before shooting it right at Karpenko. Connecticut had a few more opportunities, starting with a free kick that was too high and out of play in the 80th minute. Okafor tried to find Anaya Johnson moments later, but she was the victim of a clean slide tackle, and her attempt was knocked away. The final opportunity came when McCarthy sent a corner kick Johnson’s way. Johnson had the header lined up, but she was not able to put it on net.
The horn sounded and Georgetown left Storrs victorious, remaining unbeaten in Big East play. The Huskies were unable to capitalize on some opportunities, whereas the Hoyas scored on even the slightest of open windows. Connecticut remains winless in Big East play after facing a gauntlet of three of the best teams in the conference, including the reigning champions.
UConn’s next opportunity to get in the win column will be at home against Providence on Thursday night.