It was a cold evening on Saturday night at Monroe Stadium as the UConn men’s soccer team hosted the Butler Bulldogs for their annual senior night in a critical Big East clash. Coming into the matchup at 3-2-1 in conference play, this was an important victory that the Huskies needed to secure. Connecticut pulled it off, shutting out the Bulldogs 2-0.
The match began with the offense pushing the tempo and creating early opportunities to put pressure on the Butler defense. The Huskies would have a total of four corner kicks in the first 26 minutes of the match, keeping their defense sharp and relaxed. Butler would substitute early as they made a double substitution in the 32nd minute. However, just a few moments later, things would get shaky for Butler and UConn as they were each handed two yellow cards. For Butler, it was Josemir Gomez and Sam Pitts-Eckersall and for the Huskies, goalie Kyle Durham.
Following the penalties there was little to discuss in the first half as neither side truly took an early advantage, and both programs headed into the break tied.
In the second half, the Huskies began to push the pace. Coming right out of the half, the offense was on a mission, as in the first two minutes the Huskies had three shots and a corner kick. Butler came back a few minutes later following the UConn push and got a shot on Durham, but he was there to make the save. Following this, the Huskies were back on the attack as they grabbed two more shots in the 53rd minute, although neither attempt resulted in a goal.
The attack continued as the Huskies looked for more opportunities just four minutes later, getting two more shots off, although they were handed a yellow card. Max Gummerson picked up the foul as the Huskies’ yellow card total climbed to three. UConn made a double substitution in the 62nd minute to get fresh legs on the pitch in Balthazar Saunders and Charlie Holmes. The home side had two more shots and two more corner kicks in the next two minutes, but their opportunities still did not lead to a goal.
Following several UConn runs, the Butler offense finally awoke as they drew the ball into the UConn end, tallying four shots in just over a minute to put pressure on Durham. In the 73rd minute, the game flipped in an instant. Sabri Hanni broke the tie as he slotted home a goal to put the Huskies up 1-0. Just four minutes later, the scoring continued as the Huskies put the game out of reach with another goal. This time it was Saunders who netted it home, as he was assisted by Brummett. Following the goals, Durham ran out the rest of the clock as the home side prevailed to move their Big East record to 4-2-1 and overall season record to 9-3-4.
Next up, the Huskies will have one more clash before Big East tournament play as they travel to Seton Hall next week to face the Pirates. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from South Orange, N.J.