STORRS, Conn. - The Marist women's soccer team continued its stretch of road games in the early part of its season with a difficult assignment in Storrs, Conn. versus the Connecticut Huskies of the Big East Conference on Wednesday night. After 90 minutes of hard fought play, the Red Foxes came up short as the host Huskies prevailed 3-1. Junior Rycke Guiney (Naperville, Ill.) netted Marist's lone goal off of a corner kick in the 73rd minute.
Though the Huskies came into Wednesday's matchup riding high off of a tie versus nationally ranked Santa Clara on Sunday, the Red Foxes came out fast early and showed that they were neither impressed nor intimidated by UConn's past accomplishments. In the first 2:21 of play, the Red Foxes registered two shots and a corner kick. Marist's defense also came to play as sophomore goalkeeper Andrea Wicks (East Northport, N.Y.) denied two UConn shots on goal between 10:36 and 14:44.
UConn finally broke through on the scoreboard in the 21st and 23rd minutes with back-to-back goals by Danielle Schulmann and Riley Houle.
In the last 22 minutes of action in the first half, the Huskies kept up the offensive pressure as they registered six more shots, including two on goal. Marist was able to muster up two quality scoring opportunities during this span as junior Alycia Cartica (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) spearheaded both chances. In the 37th minute, she placed a crisp cross into the six-yard box, where Guiney got off a quick shot on UConn's goalkeeper Allison Saucier. In the 41st minute, Cartica was thwarted by Saucier as she ripped a shot on goal.
At the half, the Huskies were outshooting the Red Foxes 12-6, with a 6-2 shots on goal advantage.
In the opening 10 minutes of the second half, UConn extended its lead in the shot category as the hosts took four shots, with two testing Wicks in net.
Beginning in the 56th minute and carrying over to the 76th minute, the Red Foxes would gain a level of comfort in the offensive zone as they got seven shots off, including four on goal. Senior Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, Mass.) put the first shot on net; she was followed by three consecutive Guiney attempts. For the junior midfielder, the third time was a charm as she struck a strong corner kick that swung in and beat Saucier for the Red Foxes' first goal at 72:05.
UConn added an insurance goal in the 77th minute to push the margin back to two scores. They nearly needed that cushion as junior Samantha Panzner (Livingston, N.J.) took a rebounded Guiney shot and unleashed a shot towards goal that rang off the post in the 84th minute.
For the game, UConn outshot Marist 24-16 and put 12 of its attempts on goal versus seven for the Red Foxes. In goal, the goalie duo of Wicks and senior Caitlin Landsman (Burke, Va.) combined for nine saves.
The Red Foxes will play their fifth of five road games on Friday as they head to Philadelphia for a 5 p.m. matchup at Penn.
