Photo by Bikram Bhagat, Grab Photographer/The Daily Campus
STORRS — The University of Connecticut women’s soccer team found themselves on the wrong end of DePaul’s first win since the end of August on Saturday.
For the third time in five Big East contests this season, the Huskies (3-3-7, 1-1-3 Big East) were held scoreless as they fell to the Blue Demons (4-4-5, 1-2-2 Big East), 1-0.
Overcoming 11 fouls in a contest that featured a particularly scrappy second half, the Blue Demons finally broke through 69:27 into the game thanks to a pair of freshmen. First-year midfielder Carolina Capizzi sent a long pass to fellow freshman Katelyn Haiser and past a falling UConn defender, Lydia LeBlanc.
Handling the pass inside the box, Haiser was met by Husky goalkeeper Ava Yamas yards from the goal. Sending a shot to Yamas’ right, the diving netminder guessed wrong on her save attempt, allowing in the game’s only score.
Haiser, who played a full 90 minutes for the first time in her career, became the Blue Demon’s leading scorer with her third goal of the season. Capizzi notched her first collegiate point with the assist.
On the other end of the field, Blue Demon goalkeeper Mason Hillery went a perfect 6-for-6 on UConn shot attempts, with an equal three in each period. The shutout was Hillery’s fifth of the season.
Despite outshooting DePaul by one and placing two additional shots on net, the Huskies were held scoreless for the seventh time this season. While four of those shutouts have led to 0-0 draws, this is now the third straight loss to begin the season in which the Huskies have not scored.
The Huskies outshot the winning team in the latter two of those losses.
Junior forward Chloe Shimkin led the Huskies in both shots and shots on goal. Junior midfielder Gabby Miller and junior forward Se-Hanna Mars also contributed close calls, though the entire offense came up short in finding the equalizer.
With the loss, the Huskies finished the weekend tied for fourth in the Big East with six points, with Seton Hall and Butler. DePaul sits one point behind in eighth, tied with Creighton with five points.
Prior to the contest, the Huskies honored seniors LeBlanc, Jessica Carr, Elizabeth DiBlasi, Anaya Johnson, Alayna Taylor, Emily Hanrahan and Tea Reyes as part of Senior Day.
Up next, the Huskies will spend a week on the road and in the Midwest as they face Creighton (5-6-3, 1-3-2 Big East) and Marquette (7-1-6, 3-0-2 Big East).
Having yet to win an away game, the Huskies sit at 0-2-4 on the road. They will look to pick up their first win in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday against Creighton.
Game time at Morrison Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. The contest will stream live on ESPN+.