After falling 4-2 to Providence on Wednesday night, the UConn men’s soccer team (8-3-4) looks to put this loss behind them as they prepare to face St. John’s (6-5-4) on the road Saturday afternoon.
Looking back at the history between these two Big East foes, it’s been a checkered past. Although, the most recent game between the Huskies and the Red Storm, on Nov. 4, 2023, Connecticut came out the top dogs and took the win in overtime, 2-1.
The Red Storm are coming off a shutout 1-0 win against Seton Hall on Wednesday night and are looking to add more conference wins to their resume.
Two key players for the Red Storm that the Huskies will have to look out for are junior forward Miguel Diaz, who has 11 points on the season, and midfielder Tyler Morck, who has nine points on his sophomore campaign.
“I think the message was just trying to find our way. Those are the games you have to find a way. It becomes a bit of a theme. We gotta find a way to win those kinds of games,” the Huskies’ Head Coach Chris Gbandi said in an interview on the team’s Twitter. “I thought they [UConn] played well, but then they [Providence] made that play at the end of the game,” the coach said when asked about the message in the team huddle.
Lately, the squad has had trouble gaining shots on goal and into their opponents’ box. They needed a player to step up and take the reins for the better.
Last night, that player for the team was sophomore Mikah Thomas. The defender put fire behind the squad in the tying goal in the second half of Wednesday night’s matchup, after his third season start.
After a dish from Max Gummesson at the back of the goal post, Thompson put his skills to the test and scissor kicked the ball into the top left corner of the net, notching his first goal of his collegiate career.
“Mikah’s been doing well for us,” Gbandi said in the team’s Twitter interview. “Certainly defensively, he’s doing well and then obviously for him to get a goal like that, it was so important to us.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Belson Stadium Queens, N.Y. If Husky fans wish to watch the match, they can do so by streaming in on FloFC.
Excellent work with the men’s soccer preview, Avery. I would just note that UConn lost 2-1 to Providence, not 4-2.