BOSTON, Mass. - The University of Hartford women's soccer had a bounce back game on Saturday afternoon defeating Suffolk University with a a 3-1 conference win.

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks came out strong in the first half match up against Suffolk University, taking control early on. In just the first five minutes graduate student Imani Jenkins (Middletown, Conn.) netted her first goal for the Hawks, her ninth goal of the 2024 season. This first goal was set up by a well executed combination play off the feet of graduate student Christina Stone (Glastonbury, Conn.) and junior Rebecca Opdenbrouw (Vernon, Conn.) to find Jenkins. Suffolk responded quickly, in the 15th minute Fallon broke through the Hawks defense and scored off of an assist from Peraza bringing the game to a level score of 1-1. The Hawks maintained their pressure on the Rams with Opdenbrouw, graduate student May Cervone (Milford, Conn.) and  freshman Angela Chavez (Glastonbury, Conn.) testing Suffolk goalkeeper, who came up with key saves. In the 29th minute, Opdenbrouw found her moment, slotting home her first goal of the season to regain the lead for Hartford. Hawks lead 2-1. Hawks goalkeeper junior Sejal Johnson (Weddington, N.C.) made crucial stops in the final minutes of the half, setting the stage for an exciting second half.
• The Hawks came out firing in the second half determined to extend their lead against the Rams. Eight minutes into the second half Jenkins scored her second goal of the match from a pass by Stone to put the Hawks to a 3-1 lead over the Rams. Jenkins remained a constant threat to Suffolk's defense as she fired off a shot shortly after her goal which was stopped by Suffolk's keep. In the 57th minute sophomore Morgan Egan (East Granby, Conn.) rattled her shot at the post and her follow-up header just missed the target. Sophomore Kathleen Brush (Wethersfield, Conn.) also came close to putting a goal on the score board forcing another close save by the Rams keep in the 60th minute. The Hawks continued to stay aggressive challenging the Suffolk's keep for the remainder of the half. Their defense held strong to maintain the score at a 3-1 differential. 

Post Game Press:
"We were excited to get our first conference win of the season." said junior Rebecca Opdenbrouw (Vernon, Conn.)."We played a good game as a team and we really fought for it!"

Inside the Numbers:

• Graduate student Imani Jenkins (Middletown, Conn.) scored her 9th and 10th goal of the season in this afternoon's match and her 63rd career goal for the Hawks continuing to extend her all-time scoring record for the University of Hartford women's soccer team.
• Junior Rebecca Opdenbrouw (Vernon, Conn.) scored her first goal of the season today making that her 22nd goal of her University of Hartford career.

Up Next:
The Hawks will remain on the road to face off against UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday Oct. 9th at 6:30 p.m. for their next match.

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