Coming into Thursday night’s contest, UConn knew they needed to win both games this week to control their fate in the Big East tournament picture. They responded perfectly after a scoreless draw against Villanova last Sunday.
The scoring started right away and minutes into the game, the ball was centered to Chioma Okafor. The forward then found Maddie Fried who fired a shot from the top of the box into the right corner of the net. That goal was the fourth of the season for the former Villanova transfer, putting Connecticut ahead early.
The offensive pressure continued from UConn as Anaya Johnson found Abbey Jones in the 13th minute. The captain took a touch and then fired the second goal of the game into the left corner of the net. The Huskies held a 2-0 advantage without conceding a shot to the DePaul offense.
The Blue Demons finally got a shot off as Grace Menser stole the ball from a Husky. However, her off-target shot flew out of bounds. That would be one of only a few opportunities DePaul would see in the first half.
After a conservative few minutes, Laci Lewis sent a cross pass in the direction of Okafor inside the box. DePaul goalie Elena Milam jumped up and came down with the ball before any UConn player could get a touch. Fried, looking to score her second goal of the night, dropped her defender with a great move in the corner. The senior sent a shot on net which was blocked and after a bicycle kick attempt by Okafor, possession went to the Blue Demons.
Naia Ocio checked in and was immediately thrust into action. The Spain native took a shot right away which was deflected. A UConn pass intended for Okafor ended up at the feet of Ocio after a collision between Okafor and a defender. The freshman looked poised for her third career goal, but Milam made a diving stab to keep the deficit at two for the Blue Demons. The final chance for Ocio came when she was wide open on a Connecticut free kick. However, the offside flag came up before Ocio could make a play on the ball.
The first half whistle sounded, and Connecticut’s two early goals had them on top after 45 minutes.
Early in the second, Jones sent a roller towards the net which was easily scooped up by Milam. Okafor earned UConn a corner kick, which was taken by Sophie McCarthy. The tandem connected on the ensuing corner as Okafor’s header when straight into the hands of Milam.
The Blue Demons showed signs of life midway through the second half as Freya Jupp, DePaul’s leading goal scorer, broke through. Despite her first shot being blocked by a diving UConn defender, Jupp created separation for herself and fired a shot above the leaping Mahoney to cut the Connecticut lead down to just one.
Soon after momentum started to swing in the direction of DePaul, Kelly Monaco made two key plays to turn the tide back in the Huskies’ favor. The Blue Demons had the numbers advantage on the offensive end and were attacking the back end of Connecticut’s defense. Monaco made a great move by shielding her defender from getting a good touch on the ball. She did this long enough for Mahoney to leave her post in the net and dive on top of the loose ball. The Indiana transfer also did the work on the offensive side of the ball by drawing two defenders her way, leaving a wide-open Abby Merchant. Merchant fired a shot from the penalty hash and gave UConn an insurance goal to put them back up by two. For Merchant, this goal was her first in her 19th game as a Husky.
The last gasp from DePaul came when Tessa Fagerson’s shot was saved by a diving Mahoney.
The final whistle blew, and UConn grabbed a massive win to get them one step closer to a Big East Tournament bid. Connecticut has still not lost a game when scoring two or more goals, holding a record of 8-0-2. The Huskies are now 3-3-3 in Big East play with just one game remaining. UConn’s senior day is this Sunday at 1 p.m. against Seton Hall. The Huskies will be honoring their nine seniors and three graduate students against the Pirates.