The UConn men’s soccer team (8-2-4, 3-1-1 Big East) can at least share first place in the East Division of the Big East Conference. However, it will not be easy. It will require them to take care of Providence College (7-4-3, 2-1-2 Big East) on Wednesday night.
Along with that, they will need Villanova University, currently winless in conference play, to pull off a shocking win or draw against Georgetown University, currently in first in the division.
The Huskies are coming off a 1-0 win at Butler University on Saturday and seek to step on the gas pedal with the final stretch of the regular season currently happening.
Saturday’s game between Providence and St. John’s University ended in a 1-1 draw. The Friars have scored a goal in the last three games. They were last scoreless on Oct. 4, losing at Georgetown.
Another week, another Big East weekly honor for Connecticut goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet. The redshirt freshman from Houston, Texas was named the conference’s freshman of the week after holding Bryant University and Butler scoreless in last week’s two contests. Kerkvliet now has seven shutouts this season, which makes him the leader in shutouts among any freshman keeper in men’s college soccer.
Defender Scott Testori scored the Huskies’ lone goal at Butler on Saturday, earning him a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor. In the team’s scoreless draw against Bryant, the junior from Stuttgart, Germany recorded four shots. His goal snapped a three-game scoring drought for the Huskies.
“The confidence of the group, the confidence of the forwards hadn’t left,” UConn head coach Chris Gbandi said in a pregame interview posted on X. “Defensively, they’ve been so good. They understood the better we are defensively, the more opportunities to score goals there will be.”
UConn has been phenomenal defensively. The Huskies rank fourth in the country in team goals against average (.615) and 22nd in shutout percentage (.462). Kerkvliet has been a brick wall all season for Connecticut, and it is shown in national rankings. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in save percentage (.846) and goals against average (.615).
Offensively, the Huskies have been impressive, but not at the same level as their elite defense. Forward Eli Conway leads the team in points with 11. The junior from Mount Olive, N.J. is tied for the most goals on the team with midfielder Sabri Hanni with four. Hanni, a redshirt freshman from Paris, France, is tied for second with Testori for points with 10. Testori, a senior from Madison, Conn., is tied for the team lead in assists with defender Kieran Chandler.
Gbandi added in the pregame interview that the “mentality is good,” and the players are excited for an opportunity to move up in the ranking and secure a home game for the Big East Tournament.
Leading Providence on offense is forward Bruno Rosa. The junior from Cascais, Portugal has scored four goals this season. In addition to that, he has assisted four other goals for the Friars to give him a team lead of 12 points so far this season. Forward Aidan Davock, who scored Providence’s only goal on Saturday, ranks second in points with seven. The graduate transfer from Colgate University now has three goals this season. Defender Bernardo Prego, who assisted Davock’s goal, has now had a hand in three goals this season but has yet to score one off his leg. He only trails Rosa in assists for the Friars this season.
Goalkeeper Lukas Burns has recorded four shutouts this season. The graduate student from Cinnaminson, N.J. has been in the net all season and has allowed 1.09 goals on average with a save percentage of .732.
Gbandi said that the key to earning three points on Wednesday night is to match Providence’s physicality, calling the Friars a “great, well-coached team” with “a lot of great players.”
“We have our work cut out for us,” Gbandi said. “Should be a fun game.”
Despite their placement in the East Division standings, Providence is one spot higher than Connecticut, at No. 42, in Massey Ratings.
The Huskies usually come out on top against Providence, holding a 24-8-2 series lead. However, the Friars have won four of the last five meetings. In contrast to recent matchups between the two programs, UConn won the last time they hosted Providence on Oct. 5, 2022.
Providence will continue on the road to play Villanova this Saturday, while the Huskies have one last road game remaining in the regular season, facing St. John’s on Saturday.
Wednesday night’s game is Jersey Night and Game Show Night at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium at Rizza Performance Center. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and is available to watch live on FloFC.