October 18, 2009
STREAK ENDS
DePaul suffers first home loss

De Paul’s six game home unbeaten streak came to an end on Sunday as Connecticut notched a 2-1 win at Wish Field. The Blue Demons had won five and tied one at home.

"We're still searching for that 90-minute performance," De Paul (9-7-2, 4-5-0) head coach Erin Chastain said. "We played well for about 75 minutes today. I thought we played very good in the first half."

After a scoreless first half, UConn (10-6-0, 5-4-0 in the Big East) seized the lead in the 58th minute when leading scorer Linda Ruutu dribbled in on the right side and fired the ball past goalkeeper Claire Hanold from 22 yards away for her eighth goal of the season.

"We gave her too much of a look," Chastain said. "We needed to have someone stop her from taking that shot."

Connecticut made it 2-0 in the 81st minute on a penalty kick by Meghan Cunningham.

Tara Strickland helped her team avoid the shutout when she fired in a shot from 30 yards away on a free kick in the 90th minute.

"We did get a split for the weekend (1-0 victory over Providence on Friday), but I'm disappointed we didn't come away with any points today," Chastain said.

Connecticut held an 8-5 advantage in shots. Hanold made two saves for De Paul, while Jessica Dulski did not have to make a save for the Huskies.