The UConn women's soccer team wraps up the regular season this weekend when West Virginia and Pittsburgh come to Storrs.
The Huskies (10-6, 5-4 Big East) are happy to be home after a disappointing two-week road trip where they finished 1-3. The poor play resulted in UConn dropping to 4th place in the Big East American Division. After losses at Marquette, South Florida and Notre Dame, the Huskies salvaged the last of the four-game stretch by defeating DePaul. Even with the poor results, especially the 6-1 loss at the hands of the Fighting Irish, coach Len Tsantiris was not displeased with his team.
"We didn't play bad," Tsantiris said. "Notre Dame is a good team, but not a six goal good team. We could've had a couple more goals. The shots they took were very accurate. That sometimes happens in the game."
He also emphasized the fact that the team never gave up.
"We didn't stop playing or lose our composure for the next game," Tsantiris said. "We are bouncing back, being able to win on the road after three tries. [Road games] take a toll and it's tough."
The Friday night matchup against the Mountaineers is Fan Appreciation Night and Sunday's game against the Panthers is Senior Day. Senior Day might not be the final time the Huskies will play at Morrone Stadium this season as the Big East Tournament semi-finals and championship are to be held in Storrs this year. But Tsantiris is not looking past this weekend.
"We must concentrate on the two last home games," Tsantiris said. "They are very important right now. We have to win the last two games and if we do there is a good chance we'll be in the top two spots in the Big East."
West Virginia is one point behind UConn in the division standings, while Pitt is four behind the Huskies with 11 points on the year. These games are vital to their postseason positioning. However, Sunday will be emotional for other reasons because the seniors will be honored before their Storrs send-off. Brittany Taylor, Jessica Diakun, Lauren Ebert and Brianna Gray will play in their last regular season game in front of the home crowd. The only exception is Annie Yi. After going down in preseason with an injury, she was redshirted and retains one more year of eligibility.
"They are all different players," Tsantiris said. "Some of them came with a pretty strong background and were starters from the beginning."
Redshirt senior Taylor was one of those talents, playing in all 22 games as a freshman, and starting all but one. She is in her fifth year with the program after missing last year with a medical redshirt. One other senior has dealt with an injury during her time here in Storrs. Diakun became a consistent starter as a sophomore and is also a fifth-year senior after missing most of last season with an ACL tear. In high school, as a member of the Glastonbury Tomahawks, she played forward and was converted to defense as a Husky, according to Tsantiris.
"[Diakun] is a very important player," Tsantiris said. "Unfortunately, she got hurt and has been having a difficult year recovering from injury, but when she comes in she sets the tempo."
Ebert has been a fixture on the back line since 2006. This year she's started all 16 games and has scored a goal and an assist. Gray has recorded one career point, while appearing in 13 games this season.
"[Gray] is one of the fastest players we have," Tsantiris said. "She is doing well this year and comes off the bench like a spark plug."
The critical games this weekend will decide the Huskies' time slot and seeding for the Big East tournament in a week.
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