ORANGE VILLAGE, N.J. — On Friday night, the UConn men’s soccer team (10-3-4, 5-2-1) rallied back from a one-goal deficit late in the game to upset conference rival No. 21 Seton Hall (7-3-7, 3-1-4) by a score of 2-1 at Owen T. Carroll Field. With the win, the Huskies earned their third consecutive appearance in the Big East Conference Tournament, taking place Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.
Senior forward Austin Brummett and junior Max Gummesson each recorded a goal in the contest, including the game-winner off the foot of Gummesson in the final minutes of the second half. Their offensive efforts were supported by a stout Huskies defensive unit, including sophomore defender Alex Tupay, senior defender Khaya Roudette-Gregory and goalkeeper Kyle Durham.
The defenses of both Seton Hall and UConn had a stellar first half.
Despite being outshot 7-2, the Seton Hall defense withstood the UConn shooting barrage, highlighted by stellar play from goalkeeper Matias Molina.
But just as impressive, if not more so, than the Pirates’ defensive efforts were those of the Huskies, who didn’t allow their opponents to take a shot on goal through the first 15 minutes of play.
As the first half concluded, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0.
The Pirates finally broke into the scoring column during the 72nd minute, as senior defender and Bremen, Germany, native Konstantin Donalies redirected a corner kick from the foot of Hugo Gerbore, giving Seton Hall a 1-0 lead with 18 minutes left to play.
The Huskies responded.
Only four minutes later, Sabri Hanni, who leads the team in assists, found an open Brummett, who struck UConn’s first goal of the game to tie it 1-1. The score was Brummett’s seventh of the season, leading the team in goals.
During the 81st minute, the Huskies finally gained the lead after Gummesson, assisted by Evan Pickering, perfectly headed the ball into the net, bringing the score to 2-1.
The Pirates’ offense tried to respond, taking three shots at Durham, but ultimately fell short as the Huskies completed the 2-1 upset victory.
Both Durham and Molina recorded two saves in the contest, playing spectacularly throughout. It’s also worth noting that with the win, the Huskies knocked the Pirates out of Big East title contention, a remarkable feat for unranked UConn.
With that, the stage is set.
The third-seeded Huskies will take on the second-seeded Akron Zips in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex. If the Huskies win, they’ll face the winner of top-seeded Georgetown and fourth-seeded Providence in the championship game Sunday at noon. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.