UConn women’s soccer releases 2021 schedule

After playing the previous season in the spring due to the pandemic, the UConn women’s soccer schedule is returning to normal this fall. The Huskies will play three exhibition games followed by a 17-game slate featuring 10 games at the new Morrone Stadium.

Margaret Rodriguez’s squad will tune-up against UMass (Monday, Aug. 9), UNH (Saturday, Aug. 14), and Woodbridge (Tuesday, Aug. 17) before opening at home against in-state rival CCSU — where Jen Prozzo, a former UConn star and Rodriguez’s twin sister, is an assistant coach — on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. Five days later, the Huskies will host LaSalle on Thursday, Aug. 26.

UConn will then play its first two road games of the season against Boston College on Sunday, Aug. 29 followed by a trip to Albany one week later at the same time. The Huskies will return home for their final three non-conference matchups against Brown on Thursday, Sep. 9, Syracuse on Sunday, Sep. 12, and Buffalo on Saturday, Sep. 18.

After the Big East moved to a two-division format in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, the conference will return to a classic round-robin schedule this year. UConn opens league play at home against St. John’s on Thursday, Sep. 23 at 7 p.m. before heading down to Seton Hall on Thursday, Sep. 30.

The Huskies will travel to Butler on Sunday, Oct. 3 with revenge on their mind after the Bulldogs knocked them out of the Big East Tournament last season. UConn will then face Marquette — who finished second in the West Division in 2020-21 — at Morrone Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 7 before then flying out to Chicago to battle DePaul on Sunday, Oct. 10.

UConn will come home for back-to-back games against Creighton on Thursday, Oct. 14 followed by Villanova on Sunday, Oct. 17 before facing rival Providence on Thursday, Oct. 21 on the road. The Huskies will play their final scheduled game at home against Xavier on Sunday, Oct. 24 before closing the regular season against defending conference champions Georgetown on Thursday, Oct. 28.

Following a breakout campaign in which it went 8-3-1 and finished second in the East Division, UConn will have its eyes on competing for the Big East crown and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 this season.

CCSU and Georgetown both made the reduced 48-team NCAA Tournament last year while those same two teams along with Brown and Xavier made 2019 field.