STORRS, Conn. — Massachusetts (1-0-1) battled to a draw with the Huskies (1-0-1) in hostile territory on Sunday night.
Senior defender Aidan Kelly continued his hot start to the season, netting the Minutemen’s lone goal of the contest in the 62nd minute for his second goal in two matches to open the new campaign.
Breaking Down The Action
Alex Geczy halted an early attack by UConn, tallying two saves in the first four minutes of regulation.
Shane Velez notched the first shot on goal for UMass, as a low driven shot was saved by the Huskies.
Massachusetts earned a corner kick in the 28th minute, as a heading chance by Aidan Kelly missed high leading to a goal kick.
Geczy saved his third shot off a UConn free kick in the 31st minute.
Connecticut would earn two corners in the final moments of the first half, unable to get one past the Massachusetts defense.
Both sides would trade corners and free kicks to open play in the second 45, as the defensive bout continued scoreless.
Geczy kept UConn scoreless with a diving save off an impressive strike outside of the box by Balthazar Saunders.
Huskies keeper Kyle Durham answered with a quality save of his own shortly after, denying the scoring chance by Matt Cence
Kelly would break the stalemate for UMass in the 62nd minute, following his own header and scoring in the bottom-left of the net to take a 1-0 lead.
Kwame Adu-Gyamfi attempted to double the Minutemen lead in the 76th minute, as his shot on net was saved by Durham.
UConn would find its equalizer following back-to-back VAR reviews within 1:30 of game clock, awarding a handball penalty kick converted by Saunders in the 82nd minute.
Stout defending on both sides would leave the matchup in a stalemate after reaching full time.
Up Next
UMass begins a three-game homestand starting with Quinnipiac on Aug. 28 at 4:00 p.m. Action will be streaming live on Summit League Network.