Sacred Heart started the game Friday night with the first possession, which turned out to be one of the best scoring chances they had that day.
Once the Huskies got the ball, they never looked back. The Huskies had a number of chances in the second minute. Chioma Okafor picked up the pace and sent a pass down the middle of the field, and a Husky player facing the goal headbutted him, but it didn't break the line. Lucy Cappadna, newly elected captain for the fall 2024 season, also had a shot in the second minute.
The Huskies' next chance came in the seventh minute, when Okafor's header was saved by Sacred Heart goalie Kailan Thievon. The Huskies looked to be building something in the ninth minute, but a miscommunication led to a turnover that went wide.
Sacred Heart had its first shot attempt shortly after by junior Jashi Budaj, but the shot went wide of the frame.
The ball remained on Sacred Heart's side of the field for most of the next 20 minutes of play. UW appeared to be in a good position to score in the 13th minute, but the referee signaled an offside penalty. The turnover woes continued for the Huskies after that, as Okafor was whistled for a foul and a collegiate shot attempt was negated. Just a minute later, Thievon missed a goal opportunity off a cross pass from freshman Lydia LeBlanc.
Anaya Johnson had the first good shot at the net in the 19th minute, but her shot was converted by Sacred Heart's Kelly Medeiros. Johnson then crossed the ball to Okafor, who took a nice shot but it went wide. Okafor also took a shot in the 23rd minute, but the shot was too high and went wide. A few ticks later, Alexandra Taylor stepped back and took a shot, but it fell short and was grabbed by Tevon.
Six minutes later, Sacred Heart finally got the ball into the college side when Grace O'Hara charged up the field and crossed the ball to Shea Keller. However, she collided with a college defender and the ball was sent wide of the frame.
Moments later, University's Maddie Carroll took the first of four shots on goal, but Tevon made the save.
University's best chance to this point came in the 34th minute when Johnson stole a pass from Sacred Heart and jumped up the field. She was able to send a great ball to Okafor, forcing the goalie to go outside trying to save the ball. Okafor took a shot and the ball almost crossed the goal line, but it was deflected wide by Kelly Medeiros.
Johnson found Okafor again two minutes later, but her shot was deflected. In the 41st minute, forward Abbey Jones, another of the new captains, attempted a header that was saved by Thievon.
In the 42nd minute, Collegiate Con finally broke through Thievon and Sacred Heart's defense. The ball was crossed into the middle and a flurry of passes followed until Alaina Taylor used her foot to slot the ball into the back of the goal.
The Huskies went into halftime up 1-0 thanks to a goal by the freshman from Glastonbury, Conn.
Mary-Kate Ward replaced Caitlin Mahoney as the university goalkeeper in the second half.
The first six minutes of the second half were a chess match. It saw Taylor set up a great shooting chance for Jones from just outside the box, but this was denied by Barnet. Taylor and Chloe Landers had shots in the 51st and 55th minutes respectively, but both were saved.
Sacred Heart's best chance of the entire game came in the 58th minute after a controversial foul call on Johnson led to a free kick for the Pioneers. Lindsey McShea crossed the ball to Martina Krzysztopik and the shot was saved by Ward.
Carroll then tried to score on three separate occasions, but to no avail. Tevon made a save on a shot that went wide, and the sophomore from Manchester, Conn., headbutted him but couldn't get it past Tevon.
In the 71st minute, Cappadona had the ball in midfield and dropped a beautiful pass into the box. Johnson barely grazed his head on the ball, which was enough to send the ball into the net for the Huskies' second goal of the game.
UW scored its third goal in the 77th minute when a corner kick hit Jones' shoulder and went into the net.
The horn sounded and UConn concluded its spring campaign finale with a 3-0 victory. The Huskies took a lot of positives from Friday's contest, allowing them to focus on a big fall season ahead. Ryder, LeBlanc and Johnson were all over the place defensively and making great passes throughout the game. Coach Margaret Rodriguez is now looking to learn from the spring's play and build the best lineup for the fall season.