The UConn men’s soccer team is set to play Manhattan College this Tuesday at Dillon Stadium. They will be itching for a win after losing their last three games. Photo by Eric Wang, Senior Staff Photographer/Daily Campus
The UConn men’s soccer team is back in Connecticut this week for a two-game homestand starting this Tuesday when they face off against the Manhattan College Jaspers.
The Huskies (2-3-0) haven’t looked like themselves as of late, dropping three straight games after opening the season 2-0. The Huskies only found the back of the net twice during their losing streak while giving up nine goals in the same span.
In their last game against No. 5 Georgetown, UConn allowed a season-high 4 goals and 23 shots while scoring once and taking a season-worst 7 shots in the loss. Head coach Ray Reid said the team needs to work on both ends if they want to turn the season around.
“We’ve gotta be better defensively, not give away anything soft and be able to circulate the ball a little better,” Reid said. “We’re working on all faces, defending and attacking.”
Despite being led by a pair of seniors up front, this team is relatively young, which Reid attributes to their recent struggles. He does, however, still believe they are a talented team capable of winning again.
“It’s a very talented team, a good group of guys, a good group of individuals [with] a lot of character,” Reid said. “We’re just fairly young, we’re learning to play together and it’s just taking a bit of time.”
Manhattan College (0-3-0) has had their own struggles early in the season, losing all their games via shutout, their most recent defeat coming in a 1-0 loss against Rutgers. While the offense has clearly struggled, never attempting more than eight shots in a game thus far, senior goalkeeper Marcellin Gohier has been the team’s saving grace.
Gohier has racked up 20 saves in the team’s three losses, including a season-high nine in their last loss, a feat that earned him the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Huskies will have to be on top of their game offensively if they want to get anything past the Jaspers’ top defensive player.
One thing that has remained constant for the Huskies is the outlook and expectations of Reid heading into the matchup.
“I’m just worried about our team going out, playing hard, competing and winning,” Reid said.
The game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. at Dillon Stadium in Hartford, with buses picking up students from the Student Union at 5:30 p.m.
Conner Gilson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at conner.gilson@uconn.edu.
