The UConn women’s soccer team (14-4-4) began their national tournament campaign on Saturday, Nov. 16, with an upset against No. 6 seed Rutgers (11-5-5) to move onto the round of 32 of the tournament.
After the Cinderella run of the Big East Tournament, the Huskies were looking to continue their journey in the Women’s College Cup. Even though they were playing against a seeded team on the road, the Huskies were keen on continuing their post-season fight.
Both teams entered the game putting all that they could onto their front line. Early on, UConn’s defense was put to the test. A Rutgers forward had a shot on target, but goalkeeper Kaitlyn Mahoney stepped up and narrowly deflected the ball, keeping the game level. The first half was truly a game of offense as both teams recorded many attempted shots. UConn recorded six shots in the half, while Rutgers recorded seven.
However, it’s not just about the number of shots attempted, but which ones were on target. The Huskies were able to win that fight in the 30th minute. After a pass from the midfield through Anaya Johnson, forward Chioma Okafor grabbed possession and was able to break away from the Scarlet Knights’ defense to score her 13th goal of the season and put the Huskies in the lead late in the first half.
As seen throughout the season, UConn has been able to capitalize on momentum and punish the opposing team’s defense after recording goals. Just five minutes after Okafor’s goal, UConn struck again. After being awarded a corner kick taken by Joyce Ryder in the 36th minute, Lucy Cappadona doubled the Huskies’ lead with a header that went into the upper left of the net. Cappadona missed out on the Big East Tournament final due to injury; however, her recovery did not stop her from aiding the Huskies with their 2-0 lead.
At the end of the half, UConn played dominantly and capitalized on the mistakes of the Knights’ defense. However, Rutgers is not to be underestimated, and UConn knew the second half would be a game of defending and surviving. In the first half, Connecticut had to save five shots, compared to Rutgers’ two. Any mistake from the Connecticut defense could put their game in peril.
At the start of the half, Rutgers could not get things going. The UConn defense, for the most part, locked out any significant push from the Scarlet Knights’ frontline. Only one save was made by both teams in the second half of this game. In the 69th minute, however, Rutgers was able to find a breakthrough and score their first goal of the game. But even after finding life in their game, the Connecticut defense was able to halt any momentum Rutgers was attempting to create. In the 79th minute, Rutgers was awarded a yellow card. In the final 10 minutes of the game, UConn was successful in defending and allowed no shots from the Scarlet Knights. The final whistle blew, and the Connecticut Huskies defeated Rutgers 2-1, their first NCAA Tournament win since their last appearance in 2016.
UConn has continued to upset teams left and right in their post-season campaign, but their biggest test this season comes in the second round. The Huskies will face off against the Stanford Cardinals, the No. 14 team ranked in the country, on Friday, Nov. 22, in Arkansas.