University of Connecticut Athletics
2001 Men's Soccer Season-in-Review
12/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The University of Connecticut men’s soccer team began its defense of the 2000 national championship title at the annual Bob’s Store UConn Soccer Classic August 31 and September 1. In first day action, UConn played to a 3-3 tie against Akron University, in the first-ever meeting of the two teams. In a game that switched leads several times, Connecticut was powered by sophomore Cesar Cuellar (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), senior Sam Forko (Houston, TX) and junior transfer Damani Ralph (Meridian, MS). In the second day of action, Connecticut suffered its first loss of the season, a 1-0 shutout, to preseason No. 12 Washington. The goal came just 6:34 into the game on a shot by Brett Wiesner. UConn’s Cuellar, sophomore Lindon Pecorelli (LaCrescenta, CA) and junior Anthony Curtis (Kingston, Jamaica) were all named to the 2001 All-Tournament Team.
Connecticut bounced back with a three-game win streak, playing three games in six days. The Huskies began the week with a convincing 5-1 win over St. Peter’s on September 4 on a pair of goals from Ralph. Forko also added his second goal in three games and freshman Jose Sura (Brentwood, NY) and junior Fernando Morales (Miami, FL) both netted their first career goals as a Husky. UConn keeper Bryheem Hancock (Middletown, DE) earned his first win of the season in net recording three saves. Two days later, Connecticut shutout the Boston University Terriers, 1-0, on an unassisted tally from Curtis just before the halfway mark of the game. The Terriers had their best chance to tie the game with 12-minutes remaining in regulation on a breakaway, but Hancock came out of goal to make a sliding stop to preserve his first shutout of the season. The Huskies continued on their three-game tour at Villanova on September 9. After Villanova scored just 13-minutes into the game, Connecticut responded with a goal from Cuellar to tie the score. Minutes later, Cuellar was taken down in the UConn offensive zone and tore his ACL ending his sophomore season having already scored two goals and one assist for five points. The two teams played scoreless into the first and second overtime periods with the Huskies dominating play throughout. With 7:18 left in the second overtime, junior Michael Mordocco sent a crossing pass into the box to senior David Castellanos (Philadelphia, PA) who slotted the winning tally to the lower right of the goal to give UConn the 2-1 BIG EAST victory.
After a two-week off period due to the national tragedies of September 11, Connecticut traveled to Las Vegas to take past in the UNLV/Fila Rebel Classic September 21 & 23. Playing through a scoreless first half of play, Ralph gave Connecticut the 1-0 lead over Fresno State 39-seconds into the half. The Bulldogs then tied the game at the 74:40 mark on a penalty kick by Noah Delgado, who was fouled by Forko. Five minutes later, FSU took the 2-1 lead on a shot from Joshua LeRoy. UConn senior Mansour Ndiaye (New York, NY) knotted the score with just under six-minutes remaining sending the game into the extra periods. Hancock recorded a season-high seven saves in the tie. Connecticut did not fare much better in the second day’s action as they took on host UNLV. The Rebels took the 1-0 first half lead, and then went on to score five second-half goals en route to a 6-1 victory over UConn. The Huskies lone goal was scored by Ralph who netted the ball into the lower-right corner of the goal to tie the score at one before UNLV went on to score its next four goals in a time-span of 10:48. The loss was the worst for the Huskies since September 2, 1995 in a 6-0 shutout to North Carolina.
Connecticut hosted Pittsburgh on September 26 in a BIG EAST match-up, and the start of a five-game win streak. Castellanos scored the game-winner at the 84:05 mark to put Connecticut up 1-0. Due to the stingy Connecticut defense, Hancock was not forced to make a single save in net. The game marked the return of the 2000 Hermann Trophy winner, senior defender Chris Gbandi (Houston, TX), who sat out the first seven games of the season. Connecticut and Hartford both netted goals in the first half of play on September 29 sending UConn into another overtime game. Forko gave Connecticut the 1-0 lead 22-minutes into the match, before UHA’s Easton Wilson responded to tie the score. Two-minutes into the overtime period, Ralph was fouled in the Hartford defensive box drawing the penalty kick. Gbandi was selected to take the kick that was shot into the upper right corner of the net to end the game.
The Huskies traveled to Morgantown, WV to open the month of October. Castellanos and Ralph had a part in each of UConn’s three goals as they shutout WVU, 3-0. Castellanos recorded two goals, while Ralph added one goal and assisted Castellanos on both of his tallies. Hancock made two saves in net, to preserve his third shutout of the season. On October 10, a Pecorelli goal would stand to be the only score of the game to give UConn its fourth shutout, third in four games, over Boston College.
Connecticut traveled to Syracuse on October 13 for a BIG EAST match-up. Syracuse took the early 1-0 lead two-minutes into the game, and held through into the second half. Gbandi nailed a penalty kick at the 51:39 mark to tie the score. Ralph then notched two more goals to give the Huskies the 3-1 road victory. No. 13 UConn’s unbeaten BIG EAST record and five-game win streak was broken by Georgetown on October 20. The Hoyas scored a goal to start the second half and to give them the win. The game marked the second time this season the Huskies were shutout and their first loss in over a month.
With its last non-conference game of the season, Connecticut shutout Yale, 2-0, holding its opponent scoreless for the fifth time this season. Junior transfer, Andrew McLeod (Meridian, MS) drilled in a shot off a corner kick ten-minutes into the match. Ndiaye gave the Huskies an insurance goal late in the second half, when he chipped in a shot from 23-yards out.
Heading into the last weeks of the regular season, UConn faced a demanding BIG EAST schedule facing Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers and St. John’s. Connecticut shutout Notre Dame 1-0 on Ralph’s team-leading ninth goal of the season. Hancock had six saves in net, as the Irish outshot UConn, 13-5.
Providence College tested the Huskies on Halloween. UConn outshot Providence 14-2, but the Huskies didn’t score the lone goal until the 86:39 mark of the game. Gbandi finished on a give-and-go pass from Morales. Later that week, Connecticut claimed a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Title with a win over No. 10 Rutgers on November 3 in Storrs. Curtis scored the lone goal in the first overtime period from the top of the box into the top part of the net. The game also gave UConn its eighth shutout, third in as many games.
UConn, ranked No. 8, faced No. 6 St. John’s College on November 6, in a make-up game from September 15. Ralph struck first ten-minutes into the game, but St. John’s quickly tied the score in the 19th minute. The game-winner was scored just before the half ended, when junior Michael Mordocco (Dix Hills, NY) drew a foul 25-yards out. Curtis took the free-kick depositing it into the upper-right corner of the goal. The win gave the Huskies the 2001 BIG EAST Regular Season Title, and their fourth consecutive title, plus the No. 1 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Championship. The Huskies ended BIG EAST regular season play with a 9-1 record.
The No. 1 seed in the tournament allowed UConn to host a quarterfinal game against the No. 8 seed West Virginia on November 11. Connecticut entered the tournament with a 13-3-2 overall record. UConn scored first when Pecorelli drew the foul just outside the Huskies offensive box. Curtis nailed the free shot from 22-yards out. Just over two-minutes later, UConn fouled Virginia Tech’s Fred Silva inside the Hokies offensive box causing the penalty kick and the score to tie the game. The game played into the second overtime period, until UConn’s Sura crossed the ball into the box, causing the ball to hit off a Virginia Tech defender’s leg for the game-winning score advancing Connecticut to the BIG EAST semifinal game.
Gbandi became the BIG EAST’s first three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and the first four-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree in BIG EAST history at the annual Championship Awards Banquet. Hancock, the 2001 BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, ended the regular season with a league-best 0.39 gaa and six shutouts in conference play. Curtis and Ralph were both named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, while Castellanos, Pecorelli and freshman defender Shavar Thomas (Kingston, Jamaica) were Third Team selections.
Playing Rutgers for the second time, the Huskies shutout their opponent for the ninth time this season. A goal from senior Eric Soares (West Haven, CT), the first of the his career, at the 11:27 mark of the game, advanced UConn to its eighth BIG EAST Championship game in school history. With the win, UConn won the last 12-of-13 games.
No. 1 UConn and No. 3 St. John’s faced-off in the BIG EAST Championship Title game on November 18. The game’s goal came with seven minutes to play, as UConn controlled play deep in its defensive zone. Soares, just at midfield, redirected a pass from the backfield but instead deflected it back to St. John’s Shalrie Joseph. Joseph collected the ball and dribbled into the UConn box and fired a shot to the left post, grazing the fingers of Hancock for the game-winner.
The defending National Champs earned their fifth straight and 22nd overall NCAA Tournament berth and a first-round bye for the 2001 Men’s College Cup. Entering the tournament, UConn held a 15-4-2 overall record. The Huskies faced Rutgers for a third time this season, after the Scarlet Knights defeated Harvard (1-0) in a first round game. In a game that UConn dominated in shots (22-8), the two teams battled back-and-forth through the first half and into most of the second. Rutgers’ Dennis Ludwig struck first at the 71:21 mark of the game. The Huskies poured on the intensity knotting the score ten-minutes later on a shot by Castellanos. Ludwig notched the game-winner, deflating any hopes of an UConn repeat, at the 127:16 mark of the game.
The Huskies completed the 2001 season with a 15-5-2 overall record, 9-1 in conference action.
Select Huskies earned post-season accolades for their work this season. Gbandi, Hancock and Curtis were all named to the NSCAA/adidas Division I All-New England First Team, while Ralph was a Second Team honoree. Gbandi received the honor for the fourth straight season and then was voted to the NSCAA/adidas Division All-America First Team for the third consecutive season. Hancock was selected to the All-America Third Team for the first time in his Husky career.
