THE BEST DEFENSE

Senior forward Danielle Schulmann scored one goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory over the Red Foxes.

The win brings the Huskies to a 3-2-1 record on the season, and Marist moves to 3-2.

Both teams started out the match with equal pressure on both ends. Then, in the 26th minute of the match senior midfielder Linda Ruutu chased a loose ball down in the Marist end. Ruutu crossed the ball into the box hoping to find the foot of a teammate. The ball bounced around momentarily and then managed to find Schulmann, who tapped the ball in the net from 5 yards away.

“One of our players and one of their defenders went for a header, and I just touched it in,” Schulmann said.

The Huskies managed to find the net again only two minutes after their first goal. This time, Schulmann received the ball in midfield and immediately looked to make a play. She found sophomore midfielder Riley Houle darting through the defense with a chip pass. Houle split the two Marist defenders and she found herself alone with Marist goalkeeper Andrea Wicks. She slid the shot right of Wicks for the second goal of the game.

“I was just trying to chip Riley in, that little chip ball almost works every time if played right,” Schulmann said. “[Houle] finished it really well.”
Late in first half Marist finally had a great opportunity to capitalize before the horn. In the 39th minute Marist senior forward Nicole Kuhar took a sharp shot toward the top corner of the net from 30 yards out that made freshman goalkeeper Allison Saucier take a hard dive for the save.

“We have a young keeper but so far [Saucier] has been great,” said head coach Len Tsantiris, “She has done very well up until now and we have played some really good teams.”
The two squads finished up the first 45 minutes with a score of 2-0, with 12 shots by UConn and 6 by Marist.

The Huskies came out for the second half and controlled most the play. But the Red Foxes managed to find the net by a corner kick from junior midfielder Rycke Guiney near the 70th minute of the game. That is only goal that Marist would get the rest of the night.

Shortly after the Red Fox’s goal Schulmann found herself again at midfield with the ball. As a Marist defender went for a slide tackle she poked the ball to freshman forward Stephanie Ribeiro. Ribeiro took the pass and drilled a shot into the top right corner of the net for the Huskies third and final goal of the night.

“We sealed the game there,” said Tsantiris.

The Huskies will be facing Central Connecticut State University next Sunday at 1 p.m.