The winning-streak of Central Connecticut’s women’s soccer team currently sits at four after the team defeated Rhode Island and Lafayette, each in 1-0 victories.

Though the weather was ugly on Thursday night, this did not stop the team’s ability to win, as they took down URI by a one-goal margin.

The lone goal for the game was scored in the 25th minute when Yo Tachibana took a deflection and put it past the Rams defenders, her second goal of the season.

The Blue Devils dominated the possession, spending a majority of the match with the ball on their side of the field, but were unable to capitalize and score an all-important second goal, allowing URI to stay in the game.

Head coach Mick D’Arcy believed this was due to the pressure put on them by Rams defense.

“Defensively, they got 11 players behind the ball and there’s just not a whole lot of space out there,” D’Arcy said.

“It looks crowded and congested. It’s hard to get chances when that happens. They were obviously playing to hit us on the counter-attack, so we needed to be careful and protect the ball and not do anything silly.”

The Blue Devils then played host to Lafayette on Sunday, with a familiar outcome: a 1-0 shutout victory.

The team came out strong in the first 10 minutes before they, as D’Arcy called it, “lost [their] way.”

“We stopped getting the ball out wide and that eliminated the chances that we had. So, we had a few words with them at halftime and told them to get back to the game plan,” he said.

And his team responded within just a minute of the second half when senior midfielder Charlotte Maurer took a pass from defender Erica Bardes for the goal.

Neither team managed a goal in the remaining 44 minutes, but that does not mean the Blue Devils did not have any opportunities. They were able to take 10 shots in the second half alone (totaling 18 in the game) but failed to score a coveted second goal to take pressure off the defense.

Though scoring a second goal did not happen in either contest, D’Arcy believes the defense held up well and said, “defense is always going to be key.”

He is particularly pleased with the depth the team has on its back line. On Sunday’s contest, the team utilized senior Shauny Alterisio and junior Emily Hogan for the entire game, while Nicole Russell, Allyson O’Rourke, Shelbie Carr and Brianna Williams each played a half.

Despite the team’s stellar 5-1-1 record, D’Arcy knows there are areas in which the team needs to improve before they enter Northeast Conference play.

“We need to play faster than we are right now. I think we can move the ball around quicker. And we need to be more efficient going to the goal,” D’Arcy said.

The team will travel to Maine on Thursday night before returning home on Sunday to take on Seton Hall in their non-conference finale.