It has been a long time coming for the UConn men’s soccer team (5-0-1), who entered the United Soccer coaches’ poll for the first time since 2019 on Monday as the No. 25 team in the nation. After a successful start to the season, the Huskies will start facing Big East opponents, beginning with a road trip at DePaul University (2-3-1) in Chicago this afternoon.
Connecticut is coming off of a three-game win streak of, each resulting in a 2-1 final score. Those opponents included Central Connecticut State University, Siena College and Dartmouth College.
UConn goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. The conference noted his combined nine saves against Siena and Dartmouth, including a career-high seven last week against the Big Green. It is the second time this season that the redshirt freshman from Houston, Texas had his name mentioned in the weekly accolades.
According to the preseason poll, DePaul was projected to finish last in the Midwest Division of the conference. Villanova was the only team with fewer votes than the Blue Demons. According to Massey Ratings, DePaul is ranked 139th in the country, while Connecticut is 31st.
DePaul midfielder Noeh Hernandez was named to the conference’s weekly honor roll two weeks ago. The sophomore from Bridgeview, Ill. subbed on and tallied a goal and an assist in the second half against Wright State.
In their most recent outing, the Blue Demons lost 3-2 at home against Mercyhurst. In that game, Hernandez scored the opening goal for his second of the season. Graduate student Logan Finnegan scored just minutes later in a penalty kick opportunity. Despite their 13-12 edge in shots, they came up short against the Lakers.
Finnegan, a forward transferring in from Indiana University-Indianapolis, leads the team in goals with three through six games. Sophomore forward Keagan Pace leads the team in assists with four, including one against Mercyhurst.
The Blue Demons have heavily relied on goalkeeper Santiago Davila, who has appeared and started in every game up to this point. The senior from Wauwatosa, Wis. allows two goals on average, with a save percentage of .613.
Today’s game will complete a four-game homestand for DePaul, which began with a tie against St. Thomas, a loss to Drake and a win over Wright State.
Despite the differences between current teams, the matchup history is a 3-3 tie. Both schools met for the first time in 2007, with the Blue Demons picking up wins in back-to-back years. To wrap up their meetings in the old Big East, Connecticut shut them out twice, with both games held at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium in Storrs. Since the Huskies joined the new Big East, each program has picked up a win, with DePaul winning at home in 2021 and the Huskies winning in a shutout the year after. UConn is looking for their first ever win at DePaul.
After today’s game, UConn will return home to host Fairfield University on Tuesday night. The Blue Demons will also face a nonconference foe from their respective state, visiting Loyola Chicago the same night. Connecticut’s next Big East opponent is Seton Hall on Sept. 28. On the same day, DePaul will host Xavier.
Today’s Big East opener will kick off at 3 p.m. at Wish Field in the Windy City. The game is available to watch live on FloFC.