Ruutu scored first goal of the season against Bearcats.
STORRS, Conn. - Connecticut women's soccer competed in its third straight overtime duel as they tied Cincinnati 2-2 in double overtime on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies fought hard all game and came back from a 2-0 deficit to push the game into overtime and would conclude the day with a tie moving their record to 4-4-2 (1-1-2 BIG EAST).
The Huskies controlled the ball most of regulation outshooting the Bearcats 21-6 on the day. Cincinnati, now 5-4-3 (1-2-1 BE), would go the majority of regulation with only two attempts and making two goals in as many shots. The Bearcats freshman keeper Kristina Utley finished the afternoon with eight saves as she moved to a 5-4-3 record, while senior keeper Jessica Dulski (Pittsford, N.Y.) moved to 4-4-2.
Despite the Huskies having several opportunities in the first half to get the ball in the net, the Bearcats were the first to score taking a 1-0 lead at the 30:46 mark on a goal by forward Mackenzie Grause, Cincinnati's leading scorer, who inked her fifth goal of the season. Katie Buczek assisted Grause after beating two UConn defenders and crossing the ball from mid field to Grause for a 18 yard shot from the right side of the field past a charging Dulski.
Ahead 1-0 in the start of the second half, the Bearcats added a second goal at 55:10 by Kate Schmidt. Schmidt drilled the ball in from middle of the box off a corner kick as the assist went to Grause who touched the ball to the waiting scorer.
The Huskies trailed 2-0 with less than 13 minutes left in regulation but continued to pressure the ball. The result was a goal by junior midfielder Linda Ruutu (Espoo, Finland) who nailed the ball through defenders and past the keeper from 12 yards out at 77:30. Senior forward Jessica Shufelt (Rochester, N.Y.) was credited with the assist after fighting through her defender to place the ball perfectly for a ready Ruutu.
The goal marked Ruutu's first of the season as Shufelt recorded her third assist in 2011.
UConn continued to attack Cincinnati's defense as they did all game when redshirt junior Danielle Schulmann (Saddle River, N.J.) netted the ball to tie the game at deuces at 85:58. The shot sailed into the back of the net from 25 yards out on the unassisted goal.
Schulmann, who leads the Huskies with five goals, led Connecticut with nine attempts today, while freshman mid Riley Houle (Columbia, Conn.) had four shots.
In the first overtime, Schulmann and Houle had back-to-back shots on goal with Utley making two big time saves to send the game into a second overtime.The final overtime was a defensive stand only featuring three total shots.
The Huskies kick off their four-game road stretch on Friday, September 30, when they travel to South Bend, Ind. to take on the defending National Champs Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. The contest will be aired on ESPNU, available on Gametracker and on WHUS.org or locally 91.7 FM.
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