On Saturday evening, the UConn women’s soccer team took on their fellow Big East foe in the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Both squads had fresh legs going into Saturday, this being their first contest in seven days. UConn (7-3-2) is coming off a 1-0 win over Creighton. The Golden Eagles (6-3-3) are coming off a dominant 4-1 victory over DePaul.
UConn looked to hand Marquette their first loss in Big East play, as the Wisconsin-based team looked to improve their five-game unbeaten streak.
The match went back and forth, starting with a goal in the 10th minute by Chioma Okafor. Although it was not on the score sheet, freshman Ines Nourani set up this goal with a phenomenal backfoot pass between two defenders to redshirt freshman Se-Hanna Mars. Mars dribbled to the end line and sent it across to an open Okafor to put the ball in the back of the net.
Just 15 minutes later, Marquette was fouled inside the box, and after VAR, the foul was confirmed to be a penalty. Megan Murray, a sophomore for Marquette scored the penalty kick, evening up the match at 1-1.
UConn went into halftime tied with Marquette, although the Huskies dominated the shot count, 10-2.
At the 59th minute, Marquette cleared the ball to an attacking junior, Emily Fix. Fix dribbled into the box past two Huskies, finding the back of the net, giving Marquette a 2-1 lead.
Marquette completely flipped the script from the first half, as they took control of possession ever since the early goal from Okafor. Compared to their two shots in the first half, they added seven more shots in the second half.
Husky fans should give credit to the UConn defense for holding down the line, as only three of the nine Golden Eagle shots were on goal.
Marquette was clinging to their 2-1 lead until the 74th minute when Mars sent a shot in from roughly 35 yards out, hitting the bottom half of the crossbar. When Mars fired the shot, Okafor raced into the box to catch a potential ricochet. The senior leaped for the ball and put it past Marquette’s keeper, Hailey Wade.
The energy inside Morrone Stadium was electric as Okafor knotted the game at two apiece.
UConn finished the night with 16 shots, six of which were on goal. Wade was able to hold it down in front of the net, as the Huskies were knocking on the door in the late stages of the match but could not break through to win.
The final whistle blew, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
With this draw, UConn sits third in the Big East (3-1-2), with Marquette right behind in fourth (2-0-3).
Looking ahead, UConn heads to Indianapolis for a match against Butler on Wednesday. The Huskies return to Morrone Stadium on Oct. 18 to take on Villanova.
With the Big East tournament looming, every match is crucial for the defending champion UConn Huskies.