STORRS – The UConn men’s soccer team (7-2-3) took on the Bryant Bulldogs (7-3-2) on Tuesday night for their last non-conference game of the season, which was also a must-win match.
After back-to-back losses against Vermont and Georgetown, head coach Chris Gbandi and the Huskies looked to notch their first win and goal at home in over a month.
At the start of the game, tensions were high with both teams putting pressure on each other. In the beginning minutes of the game, the Huskies had the most opportunities out of both teams to get the first point on the scoreboard.
Looking to prevent the Bulldogs from putting the ball in the breadbasket, sophomore Kieran Chandler had two great defensive plays, and in the seventh minute used his wheels to carry the ball up the pitch. He crossed the ball to the box for a shot, but this attempt was unsuccessful.
In the tenth minute, UConn had another opportunity by way of a pass from sophomore Mikah Thomas to Scott Testori who headed the ball, but Bryant’s goalie, Antreas Hadjigavriel, was right on the line to stop the ball. This marked the first shot on goal from both teams for the entire game.
Just five minutes later, UConn was again hungry for a goal. Sabri Hanni swung at the dish from Nicolas Tomerius, but his efforts put the ball too high above the net.
In the 16th minute, another Testori attempt was right in front of Bryant’s net, but again went too high above the crossbar.
Moments later in the 30th minute Thomas had an opportunity to take a touch to the middle of the net, off a corner kick from Sabri Hanni, but it was saved right at the goal line by Hadjigavriel.
Even with these various opportunities from the Huskies, the score would remain 0-0 at the half. To start off the second, Thomas crossed the ball in an attempt to generate some scoring opportunities but there was no UConn player on the other side to catch the dish.
A few moments later, another cross came from graduate student Guilllaume Vacter. Testori tried to get a foot on it, but a Bryant defender was glued up against him, preventing him from being able to score.
In the 53rd, things started to get chippy between both teams, and Testori received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct.
During the midway point of the second half, Bryant started to gain their primary offensive opportunities. In the 63rd minute, Kerkvliet saved an attempt on goal with a one-handed dive save.
In the 71st minute, UConn looked to gain more opportunities. Chandler found the ball at the penalty marker and attempted to cross it over. Despite this, no Huskies were available to receive the pass.
In the closing minutes of the match, the Huskies and Bulldogs had a “now or never” mindset.
With this new outlook, Bryant had an opportunity in the 87th minute. They fired a shot, but it went wide and passed Kerkvliet in UConn’s net.
In the waning minutes of the match, Testori had two close opportunities, but they were shut out by Hadjigavriel who maintained himself as a brick wall for the Bulldogs.
With both teams having equal chances to get the ball in the net, they were both unsuccessful due to persistent defense and goaltending on both sides.
With the match ending in another 0-0 draw, the Huskies will look for wins to add to their resume as they look to face tougher Big East opponents.
Next up for the Huskies, they will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Butler Bulldogs this Saturday, for an under the lights match. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. If Husky fans wish to tune into the match, they can do so by streaming in on FloFC.