After their 0-2 loss in the semifinals against the Georgetown Hoyas last year, the No. 7 ranked UConn men’s soccer team (8-3-6, 3-2-3 Big East) is making their return to the Big East tournament, as they face the No. 2 Providence Friars (10-4-3, 5-1-2 Big East) on Saturday.
The Huskies are coming off a 0-0 scoreless draw against the Akron Zips, but have high hopes for the game on both sides of the ball heading into the postseason.
“I think we’re a tough team to play against, we’ve played every single team in terms of the top half of the Big East and we’ve done well, so now it’s just trying to find a way to win the game,” said head coach Chris Gbandi in an interview on the team’s Twitter after the match.
The last time the Friars and the Huskies faced off against each other was just a few weeks back on Oct. 23, when the Friars walked away with a 2-1 victory.
Sophomore defender Mikah Thomas scored the lone goal in this match for Connecticut during the second half to equalize the score, but the Friars scored once more with only ten minutes left in the match to take the win.
As of late, Thomas has been a key player for the Huskies’ game on the offensive side of the ball after scoring his first career goal in the matchup against Providence and setting up his teammates for opportunities in the opponent’s box.
This will be a tough matchup for the Huskies as the Friars are a dynamic team and were recently ranked 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. Not to mention, they have many skilled scorers on their roster.
A player on the Friars that the Huskies will have to look out for is forward Bruno Rosa who has notched 16 points in his junior campaign.
Providence is coming off a shutout 1-0 win against Xavier, where Rosa assisted the lone goal. In addition to this win, the Friars are on a three-game winning streak and will look to continue that as they enter this conference tournament.
However, with the Huskies having players that step up for their team like Thomas, Scott Testori, Kieran Chandler and Eli Conway is a testament to the capabilities of this strong, defensive team.
Kickoff between these two Big East foes is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium in Providence. If Husky fans cannot make it to the pitch, they can live stream the match on FloFC.