University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Lose Heartbreaker in 3OT to Rutgers, 2-1
11/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, CT (November 24) – The defending national champion Connecticut men’s soccer team was eliminated from the 2001 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship in the second round by Rutgers, 2-1 in triple overtime, Sunday afternoon at Morrone Stadium.
Rutgers’ Dennis Ludwig had a pair of goals as the Scarlet Knights advanced to the NCAA third round for the first time since 1994. The loss gave UConn a 15-5-2 overall record for the season. Rutgers, which improved to 15-6-3, will move on to play the winner of the Indiana/Michigan State game next weekend.
The game got off to a fast start, with Connecticut’s Anthony Curtis (Kingston, Jamaica) getting off two shots in the opening minutes. Rutgers countered with a pair of shots of its own, the first coming on a breakaway in the eighth minute. Sherif El Bialy had UConn goalkeeper Bryheem Hancock (Middletown, DE) one on one but had his shot deflected over the net. Hancock also made a quick stop 10 minutes later on a blast by Gustavo Mora, punching the ball over the net and keeping the game scoreless going into halftime.
Rutgers finally broke through at 71:21 when Ludwig notched his first of the game. After poking the ball out of the left corner in UConn’s defensive half, Ludwig found himself racing to the ball as Hancock came out of net. Both slid to the ball, but Ludwig got to it first and popped it over Hancock eight yards from the goal. After getting to his feet, Ludwig deposited his shot into the back of the empty net for the 1-0 advantage.
The Huskies stepped up their intensity in the following minutes, trying desperately to net the equalizer. UConn got its wish at 80:36 on a goal by senior David Castellanos (Philadelphia, PA), his fifth of the season. The play developed after junior Mike Mordocco (Dix Hills, NY) hustled to beat Rutgers keeper Ricky Zinter to a ball 10 yards out to the left of the goal, knocking a pass to senior Mansour Ndiaye (New York, NY) inside the box. Ndiaye attempted a shot, and Castellanos re-directed the ball into the left side of the empty net.
UConn had chances to score in both the first and second overtime periods. Junior Damani Ralph (Meridian, MS) just missed a header in the first overtime and Ndiaye hit the crossbar in the second. Ludwig netted the game winner in the third overtime stanza at 127:16 on an assist from Chris Karcz.
Connecticut outshot Rutgers 22-8 for the game and had the 8-4 advantage in corner kicks. Hancock finished with two saves while Zinter made five.
