The stands at Arute Field were filled to the brim with Central Connecticut students and fans for a battle between two Connecticut foes: CCSU and UConn. However, Blue Devils fans’ hopes were diminished, with the Huskies coming out with a 2-1 win, thanks to the goal scoring of sophomore midfielder Sabri Hanni and junior forward Eli Conway.
In the beginning minutes of the first half, tensions were high, with both teams struggling to get themselves on the board.
In the eighth minute, senior Scott Testori attempted to open the scoring as he headed the ball in the top left corner off the goal after a pass from junior Charlie Holmes, but it was denied by the Blue Devils goalkeeper, Michel Pinoncely.
No points were scored until the 23rd minute of the game, when Conway was pushed down by a CCSU defender in their box and the Huskies were awarded a penalty kick.
Hanni took the penalty kick for the Huskies and netted it for his third goal of the season and career. Hanni has had a stellar season so far as a sophomore, after not seeing any game action in his freshman campaign. With this third goal under his belt, he currently leads the Huskies in goals.
About 10 minutes later, the Huskies got themselves on the board again in the 36th minute. After a flick pass from Testori, Conway ran with the ball and propelled it into the bottom of the net past Pinoncely.
With their lead doubled, UConn headed into the half up 2-0, but their path to victory was far from over.
In the 56th minute, CCSU scored their first goal of the game, but that did not stop UConn from working towards extending the goal margin.
Both Kieran Chandler and Michael Suski made attempts, although both were unsuccessful. Chandler’s shot was tipped over the bar and Suski’s penalty kick opportunity was saved by Pinoncely.
However, UConn held on, and the match finished with a score of 2-1. Sophomore goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet played a crucial role in preventing the Blue Devils from getting back in this one, allowing only one shot to find the back of the net.
“Obviously never easy to win on the road,” head coach Chris Gbandi stated, “I’m pretty happy with the guys’ energy; it was there, they worked hard. Hard fought 2-1 win. We’ll take it and move on.”
With this win, Connecticut remains unbeaten with a record of 3-0-1 on the season so far.
Next up, the Huskies are set to return to Morrone Stadium, on Monday, Sept. 9 to take on the Siena Saints.
Coming into this matchup, the Saints are 1-1-2 on the season. The last time Connecticut and Siena faced off was on Sept. 4, 2023, where the Huskies took the win 3-1.
With that being the first ever matchup between the two foes, Siena will be looking to make the record between these programs 1-1.
A player the Huskies will have to look out for is graduate student midfielder Nick Fernandes, who leads the team in goals, after scoring the lone goal in Siena’s match against the University of Albany last Thursday.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. If Husky fans cannot make it to the pitch, they can live stream the match on UConn+.