STORRS, Conn. – The Fairfield University men's soccer team played 24^th-ranked UConn to a 0-0 draw at Morrone Stadium on the Huskies' campus Tuesday night.
 
Both teams played each other tightly and never allowed any real momentum to be built over the course of the 90 minutes. While the statistics favored the home team by the end of the game, the Stags were able to keep UConn away from goal for a good portion of the match. UConn finished the night with an 8-2 edge in shots but only three were on goal. Fairfield goalkeeper Viktor Nikolov stopped all three of those tries to earn the clean sheet.

Fairfield had its best opportunity of the first half in the opening minute when Alex Marin broke through the back line and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. His placed his shot to the lower corner but goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet managed to make the save.

UConn had its own blue chip chance in the 33^rd minute when Kwame Adu-Gyamfi held the ball at the top of the box and chipped it toward the far post over the Stags defense. Lucas Almeida made a run at the ball near the open right side of the net but the ball skipped over the line before he was able to run it down.

The Stags were next on the docket when Kris Naicker make a run down the left flank and cut into the box, drawing defenders which opened the center. His cross went to open space but no Stag could get to the ball before it was cleared by the UConn back line.

UConn had one more opportunity in the final minute when they earned a free kick just outside the right box. The cross was sent to the middle resulting in a header that just missed the upper right corner to keep the game scoreless heading into the half.

The second half followed the script played through the first 45 minutes as both teams had limited chances. But when those opportunities came, they caused some anxiety.
Fairfield's Sam Danner was the first student-athlete to make a run at the goal when he collected the ball at the top of the left box and headed toward the goal. He skipped a shot that hugged the turf but it was just a couple feet off the far post.

UConn nearly scored the game's first goal just a few minutes later when Mikah Thomas put a header on a cross that forced Fairfield goalkeeper Viktor Nikolov to hit the turf to away the shot. The ball came back to Thomas who sent it right back at the goal but the ball hit the post and was cleared by the Fairfield back line.

The final scoring chance came two minutes remaining in the half as UConn picked up a free kick 25 yards from the goal in the center of the pitch. Johan Hamel stood over the ball and put the shot on target but Nikolov was there to make the save.

"I think tonight is a testament to how resilient this group is," Head Coach Krystian Witkowski said. "It's also a testament that the performances earlier in the season were not indicative of the potential of this team. I am proud that we went deep into our rotation of players and that they all contributed to getting a result tonight. I couldn't be more proud of the fight in the boys and this is definitely a performance to build on."

The Fairfield University men's soccer team resumes play on Saturday night when it opens the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference portion of its schedule, hosting Marist College at Lessing Field. Game time is 7 pm.