University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Upset No. 10 Notre Dame
10/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, CT (October 18) – Junior transfer Easton Wilson (Hartford, CT) scored his first career goal as a Husky to the lead the University of Connecticut men’s soccer team to a 1-0 upset over No. 10 nationally ranked Notre Dame on Saturday night at Morrone Stadium in Storrs. Playing in front of a season-high crowd of 4,802 fans, the Huskies improve their record to 6-6-2 overall, 4-2-2 in the BIG EAST, while the Irish drop to 8-3-3 overall, 3-3-1 in the conference.
The Huskies played one of their best halves of the year in this contest, and came out of the first session with a 1-0 edge thanks to Wilson’s goal with 3:45 second remaining in the half. Sophomore midfielder Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) fed a perfect ball to a streaking Wilson down the far side, who managed to backdoor the Irish backline. With only ND keeper Chris Sawyer to beat, Wilson blasted a shot into the opposite upper left-hand corner, giving UConn the 1-0 advantage they would take into halftime. UConn out shot Notre Dame, 7-4.
In the second half, Notre Dame gained momentum, taking the 7-4 advantage in shots. Notre Dame had several chances to even the score, but in the 85th-minute, ND was awarded a direct kick five-yards outside its offensive box. Greg Martin drilled a shot over the UConn defensive wall, and a screened Adam Schuerman (Brookfield, WI) moved in to make the save and cradle the ball safely out of harm’s way. In the last four minutes of play, and a two-minute time span, Notre Dame took four consecutive corner kicks pressuring the Huskies. With five-seconds left in regulation, Greg Dalby took one last effort, but the ball came into the crowd that formed in the box, and Schuerman managed to get a hand up and tip the ball over the net to preserve the shutout win. In the half, Notre Dame took seven of its eight corner kicks of the game.
Schuerman made five saves in net, plus a team save in the last minutes of the game, while Sawyer had four stops in goal. Both teams managed 11 shots during the game.
Connecticut will play to host to Hartford on Wednesday, October 22 at 7:00 pm at Morrone Stadium.
