Men's Soccer Rallies Late to Tie Villanova, 2-2

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VILLANOVA, Pa. (Oct. 3) – With two late second-half goals, the University of Connecticut men’s soccer team rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie Villanova, 2-2, in BIG EAST play on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies are now 4-3-2 overall and remain undefeated in BIG EAST play with a 2-0-1 record. The Wildcats moved to 5-2-2 on the season with a 3-2-1 mark in conference games.

UConn was first to challenge when just over five minutes in, senior forward Easton Wilson (Hartford, Conn.) redirected a centering feed from sophomore Steve Sealy (St. James, Trinidad), high over the crossbar.

Villanova got on the board first, however, as Brett Stassfurth fed a pass in front to Charlie Rowan 11:09 into the first half to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The Huskies had another narrow miss as Wildcats’ goalkeeper Jason Friel made a fingertip save on a header by Julius James (Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) at 40:17.

In the second half, freshman Bonginkosi Macala (Pretoria, South Africa) attempted to put UConn on the board at 74:32 with shot at the top of the box, but Friel managed the save.

Villanova then took a 2-0 lead at 76:20, as a free kick came to Matt Sleece in the box and he sent the ball past Connecticut goalkeeper Adam Schuerman (Brookfield, Wis.).

But, with 3:08 remaining in regulation, junior Willis Forko (Houston, Texas) put Connecticut back in the game as he capitalized on a scramble in front of the Wildcat to score the Huskies first goal of the contest. Less than one minute later, Chukwudi Chijindu (Fontana, Calif.) netted the equalizer for UConn off a pass from junior Drew Brown (Middletown, Conn.) at 87:45.

Sophomore Kevin Burns (Greenfield, Ind.) attempted at 107:24 to give the Huskies the win in the second overtime, but Friel made a diving shot to preserve the tie.

UConn returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 5, to face the Quinnipiac Bobcats at 7:00 p.m.

Connecticut 2, Villanova 2 (2OT)

Connecticut      0     2     0     0     -     2
Villanova     1     1     0    0    -     2

Scoring
1st Half - VU Charlie Rowen (1) (Brett Stassfurth), 11:09.
2nd Half - VU Matt Sleece (2) (Neil McNulty), 76:18; UC Willis Forko (Chukwudi Chijindu, Drew Brown), 86:52; UC Chijindu (Brown), 87:45.
OT - None.
2OT - None.
Shots - UC 19, VU 13
Saves - UC Adam Schuerman 4 (110:00), VU Jason Friel 4 (110:00)
Corner Kicks - UC 5, VU 1
Fouls - UC 9, VU 21
YC - UC Viktor Boggren (75:30), UC William Osorio (76:16)