The University of Connecticut women’s soccer team (4-4-9, 2-2-5 Big East) snapped a six-game winless streak on Saturday, taking a late lead over Georgetown University (2-5-3, 5-7-5 Big East) to escape with a narrow 1-0 victory.
With the contest knotted at zero heading into the 76th minute, senior midfielder Anaya Johnson took a trip to the penalty mark after being pushed down by Hoyas midfielder Maya Wiese on a Chloe Shimkin free kick into the box.
With five Hoyas defenders ready to charge the goal in case of a deflected shot, Johnson instead sent a line drive past diving goalkeeper Reiley Fitzpatrick and into the left side of the net, putting the Huskies up one and giving them a definitive lead at 75:37.
With her third goal of the season, the Preseason All-Big East honoree tied freshman midfielder Maeve Staunton as the team’s leading scorer. Staunton has not scored since Sept. 13 against West Virginia. All three of Johnson’s goals have come during Big East play, which began on Sept. 30 against St. John’s.
Johnson is also now tied with Staunton with a team-leading seven points.
Johnson’s goal was one of just three shots the Huskies placed on goal in the contest, tied with their 2-0 loss to Harvard on Sept. 20 for their second-lowest mark of the season. Senior defender Alayna Taylor and sophomore midfielder Maree-Anne Van Doesburg also notched a shot on goal apiece, both of which were saved by Fitzpatrick.
Junior midfielder Gabby Miller also saw an apparent goal get disallowed after video review in the 12th minute.
UConn goalkeeper Ava Yamas posted her fifth shutout of the season and second-straight after also holding Butler scoreless on Wednesday in a 0-0 draw. The sophomore made three stops.
The home victory was the Huskies’ first in Storrs over the Hoyas since 2009. UConn is now 4-1-4 at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium this season, compared to 0-3-5 on the road.
With the win, the Huskies move back to .500 both overall and in Big East play for the first time since their 0-2 loss against Creighton (7-7-3, 3-4-2 Big East) on Oct. 21.
The Huskies now sit in sixth place in the Big East with 11 points, tied with the Bluejays. Xavier (12-2-3, 6-0-3 Big East) and Villanova (11-1-5, 6-1-2 Big East) have already clinched a top two seed in the Big East postseason tournament. Seton Hall (3-2-4, 7-2-6 Big East) and Marquette (7-3-8, 3-2-4 Big East) are tied for third with 13 points.
Providence (5-4-9, 3-3-3 Big East) also sits in front of UConn in the standings by one point.
DePaul (2-4-3, 5-6-6), Georgetown and St. John’s (0-6-3, 3-10-4) are eliminated. The Hoyas’ season is over.
UConn can reach as high as the No. 3 seed but will need a multitude of scenarios to occur to even earn a postseason berth.
In addition to winning their final game of the season, the Huskies will need DePaul to either win or draw against Creighton. Additionally, UConn will need St. John’s to win or draw against Seton Hall. If Seton Hall wins, the Huskies would then need the Providence and Marquette matchup to end in a draw.
None of that will matter if the Huskies don’t take care of business against Villanova, as UConn will travel to Pa. on Saturday looking for their first road win of the year and a chance at keeping their season alive.
The Huskies have not won on the road against Villanova since a 2-0 double overtime victory in 2012, tying three times since.
Kickoff at the Higgins Soccer Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+.