VILLANOVA, Pa. – Following two scoreless draws at home, the UConn men’s soccer team (7-0-3, 2-0-1 Big East) traveled to the Philadelphia area to take on Villanova University (0-6-4, 0-3 Big East) in hopes of finding the back of the net against the winless Wildcats at the Higgins Soccer Complex.
Leaving Storrs, the Huskies were disappointed after failing to score against Fairfield University and Seton Hall University in back-to-back games.
On the other side, coming into the game, Villanova had not started Big East play on the right foot, losing to Marquette University and St. John’s University by one goal each time.
UConn goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet was coming off a performance in which he was named the Big East Freshman of the Week, recording two shutouts and six saves against Fairfield and Seton Hall. The redshirt freshman from Houston, Texas made four saves on Friday afternoon, including three in the second half.
The Huskies started fast, with forward Scott Testori scoring off a cross from defender Kieran Chandler in the 12th minute. Testori, a senior from Madison, Connecticut, now has two goals this season.
Connecticut’s lead doubled 12 minutes later, as midfielder Nicolas Tomerius found his first goal of the season with the help of defender Jack Loura and midfielder/forward Charlie Holmes.
Holmes, a junior from Seattle, Washington, was responsible for another goal in the 64th minute, scoring his second of the season with help from Chandler and Tomerius.
The Huskies outshot the Wildcats in both halves, shooting eight in each half for a total of 16 shots, with eight on target.
UConn didn’t use corner kicks to score their three goals. In fact, the Huskies only had three corner kicks to Villanova’s seven, with all three being in the second half.
Both teams matched each other’s physicality. Villanova had 15 fouls to Connecticut’s 12, with the Wildcats having 12 fouls in the first half. Four yellow cards were issued, including three to Villanova. Midfielder Kyle Dixon was issued one in the 27th minute, forward Jasper Zulman in the 63rd minute and midfielder Jordan Canica in the 86th minute. UConn midfielder Kwame Adu-Gyamfi was issued one in the 70th minute.
Following the win, the Huskies moved to 29th in the Massey Ratings while Villanova is dead-last at 187th in the country. Connecticut is now in first place in the East Division of the Big East with seven points.
“An opponent of UConn’s quality will make you pay for those moments, and they did that today,” Villanova Head Coach Mark Feltrow said on the team’s athletic website, citing the moments where the Wildcats “came up short at a couple of key points,” especially in their own box.
“Credit to UConn,” he continued. “They were efficient and forced us to chase the game from early in the game.”
UConn has now won three consecutive games against the Wildcats, all coming in shutout fashion. The last time the Huskies fell to Villanova was a 1-0 loss at home on Oct. 6, 2021. The overall record heavily favors Connecticut, who holds a 16-4-1 lead in the series which dates back to 1990.
“I thought it was a good game,” Head Coach Chris Gbandi said in a video posted on the team’s X account. “I thought we played well. At times, obviously, some good soccer. I think every time you go on the road in the Big East and get a win you’ll take it. Guys looked like they were ready to play. Obviously, Villanova is a very good team so we knew it was going to be tough. Great performance by the group and we’re excited to get three points.”
For Villanova, they will take a break from Big East play to host Columbia University on Tuesday afternoon. They will search for their first Big East victory of the season on Saturday night at the University of Akron.
The Huskies will also take a break from Big East play as they travel up to Burlington to take on the University of Vermont on Tuesday night. They will be back in conference play on Saturday night when they host Georgetown University in a big battle at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium at Rizza Performance Center.