The Huskies were powered by goals from Josh Burnett and Abdou Mbacke Thiam in their latest win, defeating USF 2-0. The shutout was the seventh of the season for redshirt senior goalkeeper Scott Levene, who made four saves in the match including a brilliant effort to save a USF scorpion kick. (Jon Sammis/The Daily Campus)
With only six games remaining in the regular season, the UConn men’s soccer team is finally performing to the potential that earned it a No. 24 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
The Huskies got off to a slow start this season, but with a victory Friday night at USF, they have now won five of their last six games. The only blemish in that stretch was a 3-2 loss to No. 3 Maryland.
UConn (7-3-2, 4-0 the American) is undefeated in American Athletic Conference play, beating USF to claim sole possession of first place last weekend. The Huskies will play a nonconference match on Tuesday night as they head to Massachusetts to take on Boston College.
The Huskies were powered by goals from Josh Burnett and Abdou Mbacke Thiam in their latest win, defeating USF 2-0. The shutout was the seventh of the season for redshirt senior goalkeeper Scott Levene, who made four saves in the match including a brilliant effort to save a USF scorpion kick. Levene was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for his performance on Friday.
Burnett and Jacob Hauser-Ramsey also received honors from the conference, as Burnett was named Rookie of the Week, and Hauser-Ramsey received Defensive Player of the Week. Hauser-Ramsey led a strong defensive performance for UConn, who was without center back Nkosi Burgess due to injury.
Boston College (5-8, 1-5 ACC) has struggled this season, but the Eagles are riding a two-game winning streak heading into Tuesday’s matchup. Last time out, Boston College defeated Syracuse 2-1 in overtime. The Orange were ranked No. 8 in the preseason poll, showing what the Eagles are capable of, despite their shaky record.
The Eagles have played three opponents in common with UConn, defeating Providence and Quinnipiac but losing to Notre Dame. The Huskies had the same fate in those three matchups, going 2-1 with a loss to Notre Dame.
Boston College is led by junior forward Simon Enstrom, who has eight goals and four assists on the season. In the Eagles’ recent two-game winning streak, Enstrom has played a role in all five of the team’s goals, scoring a hat trick against Harvard and recording two assists against Syracuse. Defender Younes Boudadi leads Boston College with seven assists.
In last year’s matchup with the Eagles, UConn won 1-0 in an overtime thriller in Storrs. Defender Dylan Greenberg scored the game-winning goal for the Huskies. UConn holds a 32-9-3 advantage in the all-time series with Boston College.
Tuesday’s matchup will kick off at 7 p.m. and is available on ESPN3.
Josh Buser is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at joshua.buser@uconn.edu.
