By Spencer Tracy, Staff Writer

The Xavier women’s soccer team went through an all-too-familiar feeling on Sunday afternoon as they lost the Big East Championship to the University of Connecticut Huskies. Having lost to Georgetown University in the previous two Big East Championships, Xavier found themselves the runner-up despite another impressive season, losing against the Huskies in double overtime. 

Finishing the season with a 15-4-2 record, the Musketeers earned the No. 2 seed in the Big East, a feat they have accomplished in every season since 2019, except for the 2020 season which did not see a tournament take place that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They laced up their boots Sunday with hopes of bringing home their first Big East Championship since 2019. However, the Huskies had a 20-year drought they wanted to end. Both teams had headlines they wanted to prove and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament they wanted to claim.  

It should be noted that Xavier had been unable to score in their last two championship game appearances, so it was evident head coach Dean Ward wanted to end that streak. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Musketeers came out hot, ringing off five shots from four different players. Senior midfielder Samantha Wiehe and junior forward Regan Dancer combined for three shots on goal within a fourteen-minute span. This is no surprise coming from Xavier’s offense, which ranks No. 10 in goals scored (50) across all Women’s Division 1 soccer this season.  

Xavier executed offensively, creating chaos in the Huskies penalty box, just waiting for an opportunity to score. Then it happened: The UConn goalkeeper pulled herself out of the goal trying to attack a loose ball, which ultimately found the inside foot of Wiehe. She struck the ball through a sea of defenders and immediately began celebrating with her teammates as she had given Xavier a 1-0 lead in the Big East Championship.  

Xavier’s strong defense held the Huskies to not only a donut in the score column going into halftime, but also just one shot on goal. Despite outplaying the Huskies in the first half, the Musketeers would have hoped for a bigger lead heading into the second half.  

UConn erased any momentum Xavier planned to bring to the second half. Less than 10 minutes into the second half, a UConn striker pushed the ball downfield and squeezed a pass through two Xavier defenders, finding a teammate at the back post to make a sliding score. Xavier still held their ground on both sides of the field, outshooting the Huskies 10 to eight in the second half.  

The game was tied at the end of regulation. A winner must be crowned in a championship, so the game headed to overtime to determine the winner.   

No goals were scored in the first overtime, which forced a double overtime. The first team to score in double overtime would win, or the teams would decide the game via penalty kicks if no goals were scored in the second overtime. It was clear that stamina was a factor heading into this second overtime as the substitution frequency had noticeably increased. However, the aggression was still alive after Dancer was given a yellow card for a hard tackle.  

Xavier’s defense looked strong, but with the offense exhausted, the game looked like it would come down to a penalty shootout. With less than two minutes left before a shootout, UConn had possession of the ball, looking for a last-minute miracle to avoid a shootout against a top 11 offense in the country. A give-and-go action on the sideline was just enough to create a small gap that allowed a Husky midfielder to send a rocket in the top right corner of the net from about 25 yards out. 

A devastating end to the season occurred for the Musketeers as the UConn Huskies’ bench stormed the field, celebrating their first Big East Tournament Championship since 2004.  

With their loss, the Musketeers were unable to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. UConn and Georgetown, who won the regular season Big East title, are the only Big East teams to make it into the tournament. If it weren’t for their win in the tournament, UConn would not have punched a ticket to the tournament.