The UConn women’s soccer team travels to Milwaukee on Sunday for their second consecutive road game. After falling to Creighton 2-1 last Sunday, Connecticut looks to bounce back against a pesky Marquette team.
The Golden Eagles currently sport a 4-7-3 record and are 1-2-1 inside the conference. None of Marquette’s losses in Big East play have been by more than one goal. With a win over St. John’s and a draw versus Depaul, both teams are in a similar spot midway through conference play. A win for either team would immensely boost their chances at a Big East Tournament bid.
Marquette is winless against the Huskies since they have returned to the Big East. They salvaged a draw the last time out, but UConn defeated them in 2021 and 2022. Before 2021 it was all Golden Eagles, as they went 5-1-1 in the first handful of matches between the two schools.
Graduate student Tess O’Connell leads the team with five goals and 11 total points. The Wilmington, Mass. native spent her first four seasons at URI and was responsible for the lone goal when the Golden Eagles tied with DePaul. Haley Christianson has stepped up during her sophomore season, already assisting on five Marquette goals this year. Goalkeeper for the Golden Eagles rotates between Elise Krone and Chloe Olson. Krone has been playing more as of late, but Olson was superb in net in her six games besides letting five goals past her against No. 9 ranked Notre Dame.
On the other side, UConn made a goalie change of their own, switching to Marykate Ward in the last two contests. The senior did not see any shot attempts come her away in Connecticut’s 1-0 victory over Providence, but she did make four saves and concede two goals against Creighton this past Sunday. Ward replaced reigning Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Kaitlyn Mahoney at the end of the Huskies’ loss to Georgetown and has been in net ever since. After a highly successful non-conference performance, Mahoney and the defense have not gotten on the right page in Big East play. The team allowed seven goals in the first three Big East games en route to a 0-1-2 record in those matches.
The offense has not been a problem for Connecticut, as they have scored at least one goal in all 13 games this season. Chioma Okafor added goals 10 and 11 during the past two games, continuing her scorching pace this season. The assist numbers also continue to be great, as both of Okafor’s goals include assists from Laci Lewis and Sophie McCarthy, respectively. UConn now has 21 assists on their 26 goals scored, a great showing of both team chemistry and the ability to score at will.
The game will begin at 2 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 13, and fans can tune into FloSports to see Connecticut take on the Golden Eagles.