Coming into the 2011 season, head men’s soccer coach Ray Reid wanted to challenge his team with a schedule filled with nationally-ranked opponents, knowing conference games in the increasingly competitive Big East would also help prepare the Huskies for the possibility of a deep postseason run.
As the No. 5/5 Huskies (19-3-2) prepare to host No. 14/19 Charlotte (16-4-2) for their sold-out quarterfinal match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, Reid is seeing the results he wanted.
“I thought our guys played playoff soccer,” Reid said after the team prevailed 3-0 over James Madison last weekend to advance to the quarterfinals. “We played good enough to win, were pretty smart. They were very good in practice all week and they were very focused the whole week. I was very proud of them. Our guys were very resilient. That’s all I can ask.”
The winner on Sunday advances to the 2011 College Cup, soccer’s Final Four, Dec. 9-11 in Hoover, Ala., hosted by the University of Alabama- Birmingham. Two other Big East teams have advanced to the Elite Eight. South Florida (14-3-4) will face Creighton (20-2) on Saturday with the winner earning the semifinal against the UConn-Charlotte victor. In the other bracket, Louisville (14-6-2) faces UCLA (17-4-1) on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the semifinal against North Carolina (19-2-2) or St. Mary’s of California (11-6-5).
UConn is making its 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, after going out the past two seasons on games determined by penalty kicks. The last time the Huskies reached the semifinals was in 2000, the year Reid led them to the national title. The Huskies also won the 1981 NCAA Championship.
“The Big East season – all the games – only helped us,” says junior defender/midfielder Jossimar Sanchez ’13 (ENG). “We had one of the toughest schedules since I’ve been here. We know we can deal with hard games. It’s only going to help us during the postseason.”
Charlotte reached the quarterfinal round with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Akron. The 49ers have outscored their opponents 40-19 on the season, including eight shutouts by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Klay Davis, who has a goals against average of 0.83.
On offense, Charlotte is led by freshman forward Giuseppe Gentile, the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, who scored 20 points on 9 goals and 2 assists. Senior forward Evan James scored 17 points on 5 goals and 7 assists and junior forward Donnie Smith had 13 points on 5 goals and 3 assists on the year. The 49ers enter the game tied with the most goals scored in the 2011 NCAA tournament after three rounds.
The 49rs have an RPI ranking of 17, compared with the Huskies’ No. 3 RPI, and have generated more shots and scoring against the opposition in the second period during the season.
“Charlotte is a very good team. They’ll be organized. They’ll be tough defensively. They’re well coached,” says Reid. “They’re good in the second half; we’ve got to be aware of it. It will be a real test. We’re working on polishing up a few things. The kids have been disciplined and played hard.”
The Huskies continue to rely on the leadership of senior forward Tony Cascio ’12 (CLAS) and junior Carlos Alvarez ’13 (CLAS), who each had an assist and a goal against James Madison, and sophomore Mamadou Doudou Diouf ’14 (CLAS), the team’s leading scorer, on offense.
Junior forward Stephane Diop ’13 (CLAS) says the Huskies have demonstrated through their aggressive play this season that they have the focus and determination to win the close games that were problematic last year in the postseason.
“The most exciting thing for me is just the challenge,” Diop says. “People have been saying we’re not tough enough; we can’t win elimination games. As a team, coming from a couple of hiccups and overcoming all that and winning a lot of road games is really exciting. We just want to keep doing that.”
Freshman goalkeeper Andre Blake ’15 (CLAS) has been the anchor of a Huskies defense that has registered a team record 16 shutouts, including a nine-game shutout streak in 2011. He actively directs the defense, using his experience in international play as a member of the U-17 and U-20 Jamaican National Teams.
“I’m very excited knowing we’re this far in the tournament,” he says. “Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Whenever you put in the hard work, you’re going get rewarded. These games are normal for us because of the schedule we played. We’re ready for anything; PKs [penalty kicks], whatever. We’ve just got to stay focused. The key is trust and communication. The guys trust me and I trust them. We’ve developed good communication. That’s working well for us right now.”
The game can be heard live at WHUS.org – 91.7 FM and can be viewed live via a free webstream at UConnhuskies.com
