After an unfortunate result at home against Seton Hall on Tuesday, the UConn women’s soccer team (3-2-6) faces a tough opponent in Xavier (8-2-2) on Saturday. Like the Huskies, the Musketeers finished in a scoreless draw in their last game on Wednesday against Villanova.
Wednesday’s scoreless draw against Seton Hall snapped the 17-game winning streak for the Huskies, who now hold a 17-0-1 record against the Pirates.
Freshman Maeve Staunton returned to the field on Wednesday after missing four games with a muscle injury. UConn’s leading goal scorer came into the game in the 56th minute and fired three shots, one of which was on target.
The Huskies go into this matchup at a huge goals disadvantage, scoring 12 goals this season while the Musketeers have put in 25 goals. The leading goal scorer for Xavier, sophomore Brooklyn O’Brien, has five goals. Two players, Kieran Bradley and Peyton Kohls, have four goals apiece.
Kohls, a senior who was named to the All-Big-East Third team last season, has 43 shots this year, more than double the second-most shot taker on the team. The game plan for the Huskies Saturday should be to contain Kohls and allow her to have the ball at her feet for as little as possible. She also has four assists, which is the second-most on the squad, behind only the leader with six.
UConn must maintain its aggressive pace and channel Wednesday’s frustration into execution. The Huskies earned 13 corner kicks against Seton Hall but failed to capitalize on a single opportunity.
The last time these two teams faced off was in the Big East Championship semifinal, where Xavier trounced UConn 7-0. The Musketeers went on to defeat Georgetown 2-0 to win the Big East Championship.
The 2024 Big East Championship was UConn’s only win against Xavier. The game went to double overtime and ended 2-1 in favor of the Huskies. Besides the 2024 win, UConn is 0-4-2 in the rest of the contests played.
As it stands, UConn is tied with Marquette for fourth place in the Big East with five points, with Xavier up in second place behind Villanova with eight points. A win for the Huskies will catapult them into second place. Although it’s early in the Big East schedule, each point is crucial as the top four teams advance to play in the Big East Championship.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN+.