Abdou Mbacke Thiam scored three goals to lift UConn to a 3-2 win over Loyola on Sept. 15. (Charlotte Lao/ The Daily Campus)
UConn took home a win on Saturday to move up into second place in the American standings as they beat Loyola University 3-2. The Huskies were led by junior Abdou Mbacke Thiam, who hit the back of the net three times and cemented his hat trick with a header in the sixth minute of double overtime to seal the win.
By adding this win, the UConn men’s soccer team improved its record to 4-2 and kept a perfect record at Morrone Stadium of 4-0, moving into second place in the conference. The Huskies look to crack the top of the standings as they face Boston College in Storrs on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
UCF took over the lead in standings with a 5-1-1 record as they beat FIU and Stetson this week. In Tuesday’s 3-1 victory against FIU, forward Cal Jennings scored twice, and defender Zackery Waitman also added a goal. Jennings was again the star on Saturday as he bagged a hat trick with two late goals in the 88th and 90th minutes of the 4-2 win over Stetson.
Memphis followed up its win over Utah Valley last week with a 3-0 win over Belmont to move up to third place in the conference. Goalie Tyler Hoffman took home the clean sheet with three saves. The goals were spread out as midfielder David Zalzman, forward Chris Mikus, and substitute Mason Morise each grabbed a goal for the Tigers.
SMU (3-3-1) dropped a 3-1 match against Houston Baptist on Friday but prevailed in a 2-0 victory over Gonzaga on Sunday. Substitute DJ Williams scored the lone goal on Friday for SMU as he finished off a free kick from Emil Cuello. He then added another in Sunday’s game in the 88 th minute that served as the nail in the coffin for Gonzaga. They remain tied for fourth place in the conference.
Tulsa, also 3-3-1, have dropped from first to a tie with SMU for fourth as they dropped both of their games this week. They lost 3-0 to Saint Louis on Tuesday and then again on Saturday to Drake 2-1.
Temple (2-4-1) rose to fifth place with a 1-1 draw against Duquesne after dropping their match 2-1 versus Princeton in overtimethis week. The two forwards Lukas Fernandez and Justin Hahn scored goals over the two games.
Despite going 2-0-0 in the previous two games after a rough start, USF lost its game this week against FCGU 5-3. They dropped to 2-5-0 on the season and are sitting in seventh place in the conference. Despite 17 shots with seven on goal, a lack of defensive quality was their downfall in this one.
Cincinnati comes in last place this week with a 1-5-0 record after dropping their match against Western Michigan 3-1. Cincy goalie Pearce Skinner was one for four on save opportunities, and Austin Smythe scored the lone goal for the Bearcats.
Mike Mavredakis is a campus correspondent for the Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at michael.quinn-mavredakis@uconn.edu.
