Huskies have rough weekend against ranked opponents

The UConn Men’s Soccer team, ranked No. 18 after a 2-0 start, lost back to back games on the road to No. 24 Notre Dame and No. 6 Indiana this last weekend. The Huskies were shut out by both opponents.

The Fighting Irish (1-0-1) beat UConn (2-0-0) 3-0 on Friday night thanks to stingy defense. Notre Dame allowed only four shots all game, with only one of those being on goal for the Huskies.

UConn sophomore Josh Burnett had the best scoring opportunity for the Huskies, with his shot in the 88th minute hitting the crossbar and bouncing straight down, but away from the goal line.

UConn played their brand of disciplined soccer, fouling only seven times compared to Notre Dame’s 17. However, a more aggressive approach may have been just what the Huskies needed.

UConn then went on to lose to Indiana on Sunday night 1-0. The Huskies went back to playing the great defense that Ray Reid teams usually have, but they couldn’t get anything going offensively.

Indiana held UConn to four shots all game, with three of them on goal. Indiana, however, attempted 10 shots, with three of them on goal. Of UConn’s four shots on goal, three were saved by Indiana’s keepers.

Indiana’s Andrew Gutman scored the lone goal of the game in the 40th minute, assisted by Trevor Swartz. Felix Metzler and Robin Lapert were ejected from the game for the Huskies.

The Huskies’ strength of schedule was a concern going into the season, with the team playing five ranked opponents over the course of the regular season. While UConn made short work of Lehigh and Niagara, two teams that they “should” beat, they are going to have to play stronger against teams like Notre Dame and Indiana to steal a win or two away from a team that they “shouldn’t” beat.

UConn’s next game will be Saturday, Sept. 8 against Dartmouth College at home. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. at Morrone Stadium.

Sean Janos is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at sean.janos@uconn.edu.