The UConn men’s soccer team defeated Cornell 3-1 to advance to the third round in the NCAA tournament. They will face off against No. 4 seeded Maryland next weekend.
Entering the matchup, the No. 13 seed UConn men’s soccer team held an impressive 11-4-4 record despite a devasting Big East Conference Tournament Championship loss to Georgetown last weekend.
The Huskies were unsure whether their season would be over as they awaited the NCAA’s tournament selection, but they were ultimately chosen, taking on Cornell on Sunday. This was the Huskies’ first appearance since 2018 in the tournament.
Senior Austin Brummett was a player to look out for during the game, leading the Huskies in goals scored (eight) and points (20).
UConn started the first half strong attacking Cornell’s zone within the first five minutes. This did not last long as Cornell went on to dominate the next fifteen minutes in UConn’s zone.
It was all Cornell to start the first half with the Huskies failing to get any shots on goal to start. UConn’s defense struggled to keep Cornell out of their zone as the Big Red’s offense found the gaps between the Huskies to push the ball down the field and get scoring attempts.
UConn sophomore Evan Pickering had a great opportunity nearly 30 minutes in the first half but was denied by Cornell senior goalie Ryan Friedberg. Entering this game, Friedberg had a 14-3-2 record with 0.58% goals against average. Friedberg prevented the shots on goal UConn was able to make and ultimately it was Cornell who struck first.
Cornell junior midfielder Connor Miller scored the first goal of the game 36 minutes into the first half to get his team on the board. Miller’s shot deflected off of Durham and into the net to give Cornell a 1-0 lead.
Less than ten minutes later, UConn responded with a goal of their own thanks to Brummett scoring his ninth goal of the season. His goal was reviewed for potential offsides but was deemed good, tying the game 1-1.
With the clock running out, it looked like the game would be tied 1-1 to enter the second half, but UConn’s lead goal scorer had other plans. Brummett scored his tenth goal of the season five seconds before the end of the half in a thrilling shot. His shot went straight to Friedberg who let it slip through his hands straight into the net.
UConn went into halftime up 2-1 ready to finish the game off strong and Cornell looked to bounce back after a tough last few minutes in the first half.
“Both teams are playing hard. Austin came here to score goals for us. That goal really just tells everybody what he is about,” said UConn men’s soccer head coach Chris Gbandi in an EPSN+ live interview after the first half.
At the half, Cornell led UConn in shots on goal (10-6) despite trailing in scoring and looked to get back on the scoreboard in the second half.
It was a quiet start to the second half with both teams playing strong offense and defense. Brummett took a scary fall holding his head 15 minutes into the second but returned to game shortly after.
As the first half was dominated heavily by Cornell despite their lack of scoring, both teams had a strong second half.
With just a little over ten minutes left in the second, UConn responded with their third goal of the game from sophomore Alex Tupay off a pass from Pickering. This was Tupay’s first goal of the season, and it helped solidify UConn’s win over Cornell.
“We know that getting a seed in the NCAA tournament is incredible and now we focus on Saturday, I think we’re going to Maryland so we’re going to turn our attention towards that,” said Brummett in a post-game interview via the team’s X.
UConn will travel south to face off against the University of Maryland following the Terps win against the University of North Carolina. A hard-fought game paid off for the Huskies, sending them to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament.
The exact time and date of the matchup is still to be determined, but fans can keep up with the team’s social media platforms for the announcement to come in the next few days.