Siena Men's Soccer battled back from an early deficit to draw level in the second half, but UConn scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a 3-1 victory Tuesday night at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
The Saints fall to 2-5-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play, while the Huskies improve to 4-4-2 and 0-1-0. Tuesday marked the third all-time meeting between the programs.
UConn struck first in the 22nd minute when Preston Alessio converted a penalty kick, but Siena responded with a strong stretch of play following the opening goal.
The Huskies had generated four shots before taking the lead, with Siena goalkeeper
Bennet Glinder making two saves during the early pressure. The Saints then created several opportunities of their own, earning two corner kicks in less than a minute before shots from
Lee Mara,
Benjamin Fogarty, and
Luca Wust between the 25th and 32nd minutes.
Glinder made two more saves during a late UConn push, while Siena finished the opening half with shots on target from
Lucas Almeida and
Antonio Vicente. The Saints entered halftime trailing 1-0.
Siena came out aggressively after the break and found its equalizer in the 54th minute. Freshman
Ivan Struk stepped to the spot and converted the penalty kick at 53:10 to tie the match at 1-1. The goal marked the first of Struk's collegiate career, and the freshman led the Saints with two shots on the night.
The match remained tied through the middle portion of the second half before Siena nearly took the lead in the 70th minute.
Jacob Humienny found the back of the net, but the goal was waved off due to an offsides call against the Saints.
UConn continued to generate pressure following the disallowed goal, but Siena kept the match level. Glinder made a key save on Grant Emerhi in the 77th minute, while another Huskies attempt went wide following a corner kick.
UConn eventually regained the advantage when Elijah Langford converted a penalty kick before Justin Hubbard added an insurance goal at 83:49 to make it 3-1.
Sean Kelly put Siena's final shot on target in the 89th minute, but the Saints could not find another response as the Huskies held on for the final score.
UConn entered Tuesday already tied for the national lead in penalty kicks and moved into sole possession of the national lead after converting its sixth and seventh penalty kicks of the season.
Glinder played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with three saves.
Siena returns home Saturday, Sept. 26, hosting Manhattan at 3 p.m. at Hickey Field.
