The two top teams in the Big East, the No. 14 ranked Seton Hall Pirates (7-1-1) and the No. 24 ranked UConn Huskies (6-0-3) faced off in Storrs on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd.
Before coming into this match, the last time these two Big East foes faced each other was on Sept. 23, 2023, where Connecticut suffered a 4-2 loss against the Pirates in New Jersey. The current record between these two teams is 15-16, and the Huskies, who were looking to tie the record in wins, were also aiming to extend their unbeaten streak.
In the beginning minutes of the game, UConn found themselves in consistent foul trouble, giving Seton Hall multiple corner kick chances.
Throughout the first half, it was a heated battle with Kwame Adu-Gyamfi of UConn and the team for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Although with persistent defense and physicality on both ends, the Huskies and Pirates kept the score at 0 in the first half.
After a much-needed regrouping during halftime, the Huskies came back hoping to notch their first of the game, but just like the first half, both teams struggled to connect the ball to the net and find their groove.
What was thought to be a high-scoring back and forth matchup, turned out to be more evenly matched than both teams expected, with the game ending in a 0-0 draw.
Throughout the entirety of the game UConn was only able to notch one shot on goal, with Seton Hall shooting five.
“I thought we played decent at times. In terms of being physical, most of these games are.” Head Coach Chris Gbandi said in an interview on Twitter. “I thought it was back and forth, at the end there…all in all, I thought it was a fair result,” he said.
With this draw, the Huskies are now 1-0-1 in Big East conference play and are tied with Providence in the Eastern rankings.
Next up for the Huskies, they will continue Big East play as they travel to Villanova, PA for a match against the Wildcats on Friday Oct. 4, at 3 p.m.
The Wildcats have not won a single matchup so far this season, so Connecticut will be looking to break this consistent 0-0 draw streak and add another win to their unbeaten record.
One Wildcat the Huskies will have to look out for is junior forward Baithi Saunders, who leads the team with 16 points this season.
Should Husky fans want to watch this matchup, they can tune in on FloFC.