With the team’s final game of the regular season coming up on Nov. 2, the UConn men’s soccer team (8-3-5, 3-2-2 Big East) went on the road to face St. John’s University on Saturday (6-5-5, 4-1-2 Big East) in hopes of bouncing back following a 2-1 loss earlier in the week to Providence College.
Connecticut struck first early in the game, with forward Scott Testori getting on the end of a crossing pass from midfielder Charlie Holmes for the score in the sixth minute. The senior from Madison, Conn. now has four goals this season, with three of them coming on the road. Holmes, a junior from Seattle, Wash., has two assists this season, both in October.
The Huskies were dominant in the first 45 minutes, even discounting a 1-0 lead at halftime. UConn was strong on the defensive end, with goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet not being tested in the first half.
However, the Red Storm grew to find its footing for the rest of the first half. St. John’s defense did an excellent job keeping Connecticut without a shot for the rest of the half after the Testori goal.
In the 27th minute, the Johnnies had an opportunity with a shot attempt from forward Miguel Diaz. 40 seconds later, midfielder Eric Danquah’s attempt sailed wide.
St. John’s had a pair of opportunities in the final two minutes of the half. Defender Camron Boumsong fired a shot from 12 yards out. Midfielder Tyler Morck got the rebound, but his shot attempt was past the left post.
It was a tale of two halves, with St. John’s ultimately being the better team in the final 45 minutes. The Red Storm came out of the break aggressively on the offensive side, with Diaz firing a shot attempt wide in the 53rd minute. In the 59th minute, forward Niel Griffith fired a shot off-target from 20 yards out.
“The second half, they just kind of pressed it and made it difficult for us,” UConn head coach Chris Gbandi said on the team’s X account.
Along with Boumsong, defender Bjorn Nikolajewski also provided a spark for the defensive group on offense, firing a shot just wide of the net in the 66th minute. The redshirt junior from Berlin, Germany played a full 90 minutes in the game.
Off the head of defender Antonio Briggs, the Johnnies tied the game in the 77th minute. Briggs, a senior from Kingston, Jamaica, scored his first career goal on Saturday.
Forward Brady Geho saw a chance to give the Red Storm its first lead of the game, but Kerkvliet punched his header away. St. John’s had another chance with defender Thomas Lamaille, but the senior from Villejuif, France saw his shot in the 81st minute not find the back of the net but kept the Huskies in its defensive third.
The final seven minutes saw a grueling finish for the players despite no recorded shots, resulting in a draw at Belson Stadium in Queens, N.Y.
St. John’s doubled UConn’s total shots and shots on goal with 10 and four, respectively. Kerkvliet was forced to make three saves in the second half, while St. John’s goalkeeper Alec McLachlan only made one.
The Huskies were the more physical team despite the only yellow card issued being against St. John’s, with 20 fouls to the Red Storm’s 10.
Saturday’s result is the eighth tie in the 39th game in the series history. St. John’s remains in front 17-14-8 all-time but has not come out on top in the series since March 2021.
“Hopefully we can get a home game,” Gbandi said ahead of the season finale against Akron, referring to the Big East Tournament.
Their final chance at getting a home game will come against the Big East’s best team in terms of points. The University of Akron, ranked No. 24 in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll, has a commanding lead in the Midwest Division of the conference with 21 points, 11 more than second-place Creighton University.
Senior Day against Akron will be Saturday afternoon at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium at Rizza Performance Center on FloFC. St. John’s has two games left with Georgetown University on Saturday and The City College of New York on Nov. 4.