University of Connecticut Athletics
Men's Soccer Opens 2005 Season With UConn/adidas Classic
8/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, Conn. (August 31) - The University of Connecticut men’s soccer team opens the 2005 campaign Friday, Sept. 2, against St. Peter’s in the second game of the UConn/adidas Classic at 7:00 p.m. in Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. The defending BIG EAST Tournament champion and 19th-ranked Huskies are coming off a preseason where two of three teams faced are currently ranked in the preseason top five, No. 2 Maryland and No. 3 Duke. They lost a close 1-0 contest against the Terps before beating Southern Methodist, 4-3, at Akron’s Westfield Cup, and then returning home to play the Blue Devils to a scoreless tie.
The Tournament Field
In addition to St. Peter’s, Brown and Hartwick will compete in this weekend’s UConn/adidas Classic with the Hawks set to take on the Huskies on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 7:00 p.m. to conclude the tournament. The complete schedule of action is:
Friday, Sept. 2
Brown vs. Hartwick 4:30 p.m.
UConn vs. St. Peter’s 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 4
Brown vs. St. Peter’s 4:30 p.m.
UConn vs. Hartwick 7:00 p.m.
A Closer Look At The Opponents
St. Peter’s
2004 Record: 9-6-5
2004 MAAC Rec./Finish: 6-2-1/9th
Starters Ret./Lost: 5/6
Letterwinners Ret./Lost: 17/7
Hartwick
2004 Record: 13-3-3
2004 ASL Rec./Finish: 4-1/2nd
Starters Ret./Lost: 7/4
Letterwinners Ret./Lost: 13/5
Season Openers
UConn holds an all-time record of 33-27-5 in season openers, including a 23-15-4 mark at home. Under Head Coach Ray Reid’ tutelage, the Huskies are 2-5-1 over the last eight seasons, with the last win coming against Hartford in 1999.
Opening Day Under Coach Reid
1997 A L, 2-0 Syrcause
1998 H W, 3-0 Providence
1999 H W, 4-1 Hartford
2000 H L, 2-1 Wake Forest
2001 H T, 3-3 Akron (2ot)
2002 A L, 3-2 Seton Hall
2003 A L, 2-0 Wake Forest
2004 H L, 1-0 Michigan
2005 Schedule
The regular season gets underway with the annual UConn/adidas Soccer Classic Labor Day Weekend at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn. The tournament field of Brown, St. Peter’s and Hartwick will face off with games on Friday, Sept. 2 and Sunday, Sept. 4. Tournament action will continue the following weekend as the Huskies head to Brown to square off against George Mason (9/9) and UNC-Greensboro (9/11). The Spartans from UNCW went undefeated through 17 games last season and finished the year with a record of 19-3-1 with a 1-0 overtime loss to UC-Santa Barbara in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
UConn opens BIG EAST action the weekend of Sept. 16-18 with a road contests versus conference newcomers Cincinnati (9/16) and Louisville (9/18) before returning home for seven of the next eight games. Highlighted by a visit from NCAA Quarterfinalist St. John’s, the Huskies play host to the Red Storm (9/23), Syracuse (9/25), Sacred Heart (9/28), Marquette (10/1) and Providence (10/5) during a five-game homestand. After making a brief road trip to take on Notre Dame (10/8), UConn returns to Storrs for games against Pittsburgh (10/15) and Brown (10/19).
The Huskies then head back out on the road to face Seton Hall (10/22) and West Virginia (10/26). The contest versus the Pirates will be a rematch of the 2004 BIG EAST Championship, where the Huskies earned the trophy on a 5-3 penalty kick decision after playing to a scoreless tie through 110 minutes of action. Georgetown will visit UConn on October 29 to wrap up the regular season for both teams before the conference tournament.
The 2005 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship will feature the top 12 of the league’s 16 teams. The top six teams in each division, seeded by conference point total, qualify for the Conference Championship. The top two teams in each division earn a first round bye to the quarterfinals. The first round and quarterfinal games will be held on the campus of the higher seeded team. First round games will be held on Nov. 2-3, with the Quarterfinals following on Nov. 5-6. UConn will serve as host for the semifinals (Nov. 11) and the championship game (Nov. 13). Selection and seeding are based on regular season conference records. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.
Preseason Rankings
The Connecticut men’s soccer team is ranked fifth in the country in Soccer America’s Preseason Poll, released Monday, Aug. 22 by the magagazine. The defending BIG EAST Tournament champion Huskies are currently ranked at No. 19 in the NSCAA/adidas Preseason Poll.
Huskies Top BIG EAST Poll
The UConn men’s soccer team has been picked as the preseason favorite in the BIG EAST Conference Blue Division in the league’s 2005 preseason poll as voted on by the league’s head coaches. St. John’s was chosen to garner the Red Division championship. Connecticut and St. John’s have been selected to win the regular season championship in all but one season dating back to at least the 1993 season.
Connecticut, which captured last year’s BIG EAST Championship crown, earned nine first place votes in this year’s preseason poll. The Huskies placed two players on the preseason team -- sophomore defender Julius James (Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) and senior midfielder Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa).. Both were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team a year ago.
A Quick Look At The Preseason
In the Huskies first preseason contest of the new year, they dropped a 1-0 decision to second-ranked Maryland in Akron’s Westfield Cup on Aug. 19. UConn then faced Southern Methodist in the consolation game of the tournament, beating them 4-3. Ryan Cordeiro (Highland Mills, N.Y.) opened scoring just 11 seconds into the match, while O’Brian White (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada), Willis Forko (Houston, Texas) and Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) each added a goal to round out scoring for UConn. Kevin Burns (Greenfield, Ind.) also tallied two assists in the game.
The Huskies took on third-ranked Duke in the final exhibition contest of the preseason, playing to a scoreless tie through 90 minutes of action on Aug. 27 at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
Hermann Trophy Watch List
Connecticut men’s soccer players Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) and Julius James (Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) are two of 25 players from around the nation named candidates for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The list was compiled by a coaching panel for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), which serves as the official selection body for the MAC's Hermann Trophy.
Media Information
WHUS Radio: UConn’s campus radio station WHUS (91.7 FM) will broadcast nine of 10 home Husky men’s soccer games, as well as three road contests, in 2005. WHUS’ broadcasts can be heard live on the Internet at WHUS.org and will be linked to UConnHuskies.com.
E-mail: If you would like the latest Connecticut men’s soccer news e-mailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, e-mail men’s soccer contact Alissa Clendenen at alissa.clendenen@uconn.edu with the message “Men’s Soccer E-mail” as the subject and you will receive every update.
Web: Please visit UConnHuskies.com for up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other UConn athletic department information.
