MSOC beats St. John's in overtime, advancing in BIG EAST tournament
QUEENS, N.Y. – The UConn men's soccer team defeated the St. John's Red Storm, 2-1 in dramatic fashion on Saturday night. Sophomore forward Eli Conway scored the game winner in the second overtime period helping the Huskies advance to the BIG EAST semifinal.
UConn got off to a quick start tallying six shots in the first fifteen minutes of the game, controlling much of the possession.
The Huskies found the game's opening goal in the 25th minute as Scott Testori notched his eighth goal of the season to give UConn a 1-0 lead. Freshman defender Kieran Chandler played a great ball from a corner kick that found Testori at the back post and the junior forward headed home the first goal of the game.
UConn went into the half with a 1-0 lead with shots in favor of the Huskies 7-4.
St. John's found an equalizer two minutes into the second half as Lenny Cidolit scored his first goal of the season tying the game at one.
The game would remain tied after 90 minutes sending the match into overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, the Huskies found the game winning goal in the 102nd minute from Conway. The New Jersey native capitalized on a St. John's miscue intercepting a pass back to the goalkeeper. Conway had a silky smooth finish taking the ball around the goalkeeper and finishing into the empty net giving UConn the lead for good. This is Conway's third goal of the season, matching his goal total from last season.
Senior goalkeeper Kyle Briere earned his first career start, making six big saves to keep St. John's at bay. "I can't really describe the feeling," said Briere. "When you are on this team and apart of this family, you can't stop working. These guys are worth fighting for and I finally got my chance, and those guys helped me through it."
"I am proud of the group and the resiliency we showed," said head coach Chris Gbandi. "Going on the road, scoring a goal, and then having them (St. John's) come back to tie it in the second half, there's tendency for a team to put their head down. This group just wouldn't give up and kept on pushing."
Up Next:
The Huskies advance to the BIG EAST semifinal matching up with the no. 1 seed Georgetown Hoyas on Thursday, November 9 in Boyds, Maryland. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm.
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