University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Fall to St. John's in BIG EAST Championship
11/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, CT (November 18) – The St. John’s University men’s soccer team won the 2001 BIG EAST Championship on Sunday afternoon, downing Connecticut 1-0 before a crowd of 2,553 at Morrone Stadium.
The win gave the Red Storm their sixth conference title in school history and improved their record to 14-2-3. The Huskies fell to 15-4-2 overall and are 4-4 all-time in the conference finals.
The game’s lone goal came with seven minutes to play, as UConn controlled play deep in its defensive zone. With the game knotted at 0-0, St. John’s retreated back to play defense as the Huskies attempted to counter. Senior Eric Soares (West Haven, CT), just inside the midfield stripe, attempted to re-direct a pass from the backfield but ended up deflecting it back to St. John’s Shalrie Joseph. Joseph, the only Red Storm player in the area, collected the ball and dribbled into the UConn box and fired a shot to the left post. Senior goalkeeper Bryheem Hancock (Middletown, DE) dove to his right, but the ball glanced off his fingertips and into the net for the game winner.
The Huskies pressed for the equalizer in the game’s final moments but couldn’t get a shot on net. St. John’s outshot UConn 12-8 for the game and had the 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Both Hancock and St. John’s Guy Hertz finished with two saves.
Joseph was named the 2001 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player.
Connecticut awaits its NCAA Men’s College Cup selection. The 48-team field will be announced on Monday, November 19 at 3 p.m. First and second round play begins next weekend.
