UConn men’s soccer freshman forward Fredrik Jonsson dribbles downfield during the Huskies’ game against Rhode Island at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. Jonsson registered an assist in the Huskies’ 2-1 defeat on the road against South Florida last night. (Jason Jiang/The Daily Campus)
The UConn men’s soccer team lost 2-1 to Louisville in a non-conference bout Tuesday night at Lynn Stadium in Kentucky. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 3-5-4 on the season, while the Cardinals improved to 5-5-3.
The Huskies were able to get on the scoreboard first, thanks to forward Tyler Leeman. Leeman beat Louisville goalkeeper Casey Axman in the 27th minute with a shot from six yards out, giving UConn an early 1-0 lead. Fredrik Jonsson and Jake Nerwinski were credited with assists on the goal, giving Leeman his second score of the season.
The Cardinals did not wait long to answer. In the 40th minute, Louisville’s Daniel Johnson scored a very similar goal to the one scored by Leeman, receiving a cross from the right side and firing a shot past UConn goalkeeper Scott Levene to even the score to one apiece. Andrew Brody and Ben Strong recorded assists on Johnson’s game-tying goal.
The Huskies headed into the halftime break with a 6-2 advantage in shots, although Axman was not forced to make many saves. UConn also held a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks after the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, the offensive script flipped. The Huskies only recorded one shot after the break, while the Cardinals recorded two. The first real chance for either team came in the 64th minute, when Levene was forced to come off his line and grab a dangerous corner kick that Louisville swung into the box.
In the 72nd minute, the Cardinals grabbed their first lead of the match on an unassisted goal from freshman Ricardo Oliveros, who was substituted into the match in the second half. Oliveros grabbed a loose ball in the box and beat Levene from 12 yards out to give his team a 2-1 lead, which held up as the final score.
Axman made one save and picked up the win, while Levene recorded one save in defeat. With the loss, UConn fell to 4-2-1 all-time against Louisville.
The Huskies are now winless for six straight games. They return to Joseph J. Morrone Stadium on Oct. 17 to resume American Athletic Conference play against UCF.
Tyler Keating is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus, covering UConn soccer. He can be reached via email at tyler.keating@uconn.edu. He tweets @tylerskeating.
