STORRS, Conn. - First half goals by forward Cyle Larin (Brampton, Ontario) and midfielder Cheikh Stephane Coly (Dakar, Senegal) and a second half tally from forward Ethan Vanacore-Decker (Manahawkin, NJ) paced the No. 8 UConn men’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Stony Brook on Monday. The Huskies improve to 1-1 with the win at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, while the Sea Wolves fall to 0-2.

Larin once again opened the scoring for UConn, connecting on a great cross from sophomore midfielder Kwame Awuah (Toronto, Ontario) in the 7^th minute. Awuah maneuvered past a Stony Brook defender near the right edge of the box and delivered the ball directly in front of the box to Larin, who fired a shot that hit off the cross bar and ricocheted into the net.

In the 40^th minute, freshman defender Dylan Greenberg (Dix Hills, N.Y) placed a great corner kick into the box, and his pass eventually fell to sophomore forward Nicholas Zuniga (Norwalk, Conn.) after bouncing off several defenders. The Connecticut forward fired a shot that was blocked by Stony Brook keeper Tom McMahon, and Coly took advantage of the rebound, slotting the ball into the left side of the net. The goal was Coly’s first collegiate points and Zuniga picked up his first assist of the year on the play.

Vanacore-Decker helped UConn seal the match in the 76^th minute, scoring his first goal this season after great passes from Zuniga and senior forward Allando Matheson (North York, Ontario). Matheson gathered the long pass from redshirt junior goalkeeper Jacob Wagmeister (River Edge, N.J.) with his chest and relayed the ball to Zuniga, who threaded it towards Vanacore-Decker near the top left corner of the Stony Brook box. The sophomore forward scored with ease, chipping the ball past McMahon and into the net.

The Huskies saw two additional scoring opportunities in the second half, starting in the 62^nd minute when Larin nearly doubled his scoring output for the night, as his header off a UConn corner just missed wide left. Ten minutes later, Connecticut senior midfielder Edir DaGraca (Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde Islands) found himself with the ball near the top of the box and ripped a shot that hit off the crossbar and out of danger.

The Sea Wolves’ best chance of the night came off a corner kick in the 69^th minute. The ball in reached Stony Brook defender Barnabas Mako, who was able to get a head on the cross, but his shot deflected off the left post and out of bounds.

Wagmeister recorded four saves to earn his third career shutout and first win of the season for the Huskies, while McMahon made four saves for the Sea Wolves. UConn outshot Stony Brook 14-11 for the match, and the Sea Wolves finished the match with 10 corner kicks compared to four by the Huskies.

Connecticut returns to the pitch on Friday when it faces No. 11 Wake Forest in a match set for 7 p.m. The Demon Deacons (0-2) will be UConn’s first opponent on the road this season.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13