BATTLE FOR THE BIG EAST

The women's soccer team begins their quest for the Big East Championship this Thursday as they take on Villanova in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

In their first meeting this season, UConn came out on top. The Huskies defeated Villanova by a score of 1-0 at Morrone Stadium, capping off a huge weekend for the Huskies as they improved their record on the season to 8-3-0.

Things have not gone nearly as well for the Huskies since that game, as they would wind up going 2-4-1 over the following seven games. Now, after finishing the regular season with a forgettable performance at home, the Huskies will face Villanova again, this time on the road, under much different circumstances.

"We've got to bounce back and get back to the way we were playing before," coach Len Tsantiris said. "At this point, it's not the regular season, everything is on the line now. So we'll see how we react in that situation, we haven't been there yet."

The first round of the Big East tournament is a place the women's soccer program has never found itself until now. This is the first time in the program's history that the Huskies will play in the tournament's first round - played between the 4th and 5th seeds of the American and National divisions of the Big East.

UConn finished the regular season in 5th place in the American division. The Huskies had the opportunity to seize the 3rd position in the division after lowly Syracuse defeated USF on the last day of the regular season, but by losing to Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Huskies were unable to jump USF and were subsequently jumped themselves by West Virginia, who claimed the important 3rd position.

None of this matters at this point, as the Huskies must win to keep their season alive, and they will face a tough opponent in Villanova.

The Wildcats finished their regular season with a record of 11-4-4 (4-4-3 Big East) and feature the Big East's leading scorer, Katie Ryan. Ryan finished the season leading the Big East in points (27) and goals (10), as well as finishing 3rd in the conference in assists (7).

The Wildcats' goalkeeper, Molly Williams, will likely be a factor as well. She ranks 2nd in the conference in saves, as well as 4th in save percentage, indicating that although opposing offenses have had a lot of opportunities to take shots on the Villanova net, they have not come away with a lot of goals.

"We're capable of winning games against good teams," Tsantiris said. "We just have to find a way to stay consistent and go in with a lot of energy and do the things we can do. If we do that, I don't think other teams can stop us."

If the Huskies win Thursday, they will advance to the second round to play No.1 seeded Marquette in the second round on Sunday.