The UConn men’s soccer team is in the midst of a tough losing streak that it will look to snap as it faces Creighton on Friday, Oct. 3. After back-to-back losses to No. 14 Bryant and rival Villanova, the Huskies will need to regroup quickly to stay competitive in the Big East standings. The Huskies currently sit at 1-1-0 in conference play and have a near perfect record on the road; however, they have struggled at home.
Austin Brummett is the team’s leader on offense as he has amassed 13 total points on the year. Brummett has also had help from Balthazar Saunders and Charlie Holmes, as those two have combined for 19 points on the year to pace the UConn offense. However, the Huskies have scored just two goals in their last two games, so they will rely on those three to get the momentum going again. Kyle Durham has been great in net for the Huskies all year and he will look to keep it up on Friday. He allows a goal per game on average and maintains a .800 save percentage. Durham has played every minute for the Huskies this year.
Creighton comes into the match hot as can be as they have rattled off five wins to bring their record on the year to 5-2-2. In conference play, they are ahead of the Huskies at 2-0-0. The Bluejays are led by Miguel Arilla, who has 11 points on the year so far. Arilla only has four goals; however, he has the most shots on the team by a good margin, so he will be a focal point for the UConn defense. Arilla is also notably 2-2 on penalty kicks this season, which could be an essential factor in the contest. The Bluejay goalie, Matthew Hudson, is coming off his second freshman of the week award and allows just one goal per game on average. Compared to Durham, Arilla’s save percentage is lower, at .727. By the numbers, the Bluejays are a slow-starting team as they have been outscored by opponents 7-4 in the first half this year. However, they tend to dominate the second half as they have outscored teams 9-2. It will be important for UConn to start out fast to control the pace of the game.
If the Huskies can slow the Bluejays down, they should have a good chance of coming out victorious. The game will be played on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. in Storrs.