University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head To Brown For Weekend Tournament
9/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
After opening the 2005 season with a 2-0 record in the UConn/adidas Classic, the eighth-ranked University of Connecticut men’s soccer team heads to the adidas-Brown Classic in Providence, R.I., to take on George Mason and UNC Greensboro. The Huskies game against UNCG will be broadcasted by Cox Sports in the Rhode Island and Connecticut areas.
The Tournament Field
Friday, September 9
UConn vs. George Mason 5:00 p.m.
UNC Greensboro at Brown 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, September 11
UConn vs. UNC Greensboro Noon*
George Mason at Brown 2:30 p.m.*
*Broadcasted LIVE on Cox Sports Network
A Closer Look At The Opponents
George Mason (2-0-0)
- The Patriots defeated Loyola (Md.) 2-0 to begin the year before scoring an overtime victory over Liberty, 3-2.
- George Mason is coached by former MLS coach Greg Andrulis, who joined the team just two weeks ago after 16-year head coach Fran O’Leary resigned. Andrulis coached the Columbus Crew for four-plus years and was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2004.
-The Patriots returned four starters from last year’s squad that went 7-11-1.
- Senior Teba McKnight led George Mason in scoring a year ago, but has yet to score this season. Junior Francis McCardle currently leads the team with four points off two goals.
UNC Greensboro (1-1-0)
- In 2004, the Spartans were the last team to be beaten, starting the year with a 16-0-1 record en route to finishing the season 19-3-1 with a trip to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
- UNC Greensboro Head Coach Michael Parker is the winningest active coach in terms of total wins. In his 30th year as a college head coach, Parker has amassed 437 wins. UConn Head Coach Ray Reid is the winningest active coach by percentage (.784).
- The Spartans split their first two games of the season, falling to UNC Wilmington, 3-2, in double overtime before taking it to UNC Charlotte by a 4-0 margin.
- Like UConn, UNC Greensboro is one of four schools with multiple candidates for the prestigious Hermann Trophy. The Spartans are represented by Scott Jones and Randi Patterson.
Looking Back
After losing four of the last five season openers, UConn defeated St. Peter’s, 2-0, to begin the 2005 campaign with a bang. With the 2-0 win against Hartwick, the Huskies began the season with two shutout wins for the first time since 1989 when UConn did not give up a goal through the first four games of the year.
Spreading the Wealth
In the Huskies’ first two games of the year, four different players scored the team’s first four games of the year. Kevin Burns, Ryan Cordeiro, Willis Forko and Moshe Shalchon each found the back of the net for UConn, with Shalchon’s goal against St. Peter’s standing as his first career tally.
Huskies On The Airwaves
The UConn men’s soccer team will be on television twice in the coming weeks, with the games against UNC Greensboro (9/11) and St. John’s (9/23) being televised. Sunday’s game against the Spartans will be featured on Cox Sports in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Channel 3 for Cox Cable subscribers.
The St. John’s contest is part of an eight-game deal between the NSCAA and Fox Soccer Channel that was announced Wednesday, Sept. 7. The Huskies and Red Storm will face off at approximately 8:00 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel, available from all major cable companies.
UConn Rises In The Rankings
In rankings released Monday, Sept. 9, the UConn Huskies are firmly routed in the top 10 in each of the four major collegiate soccer polls. Soccer America has the team in the No. 3 spot, while it comes in at No. 5 according to College Soccer News, No. 8 on the NCSSA/adidas list and No. 10 in the Soccer TImes poll.
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.
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.
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.
Reid Rises To The Top
Husky Head Coach Ray Reid stands in first place among winningest active coaches at the start of the 2005 season. In 16 years as a head coach, Reid has amassed a 266-63-28 record for an NCAA-leading .784 win percentage coming into 2005. The Southern Connecticut graduate is currently ranked 16th under all-time winningest coaches based on percentage.
Freshmen Come In Front And Center
The Connecticut men’s soccer freshman class is ranked 19th in the country by College Soccer News.com. Additionally, freshman goalkeeper Alex Horwath was chosen as one of the top 100 freshman in the country by the national Web site. Horwath comes to UConn after a stunning high school career at Maryland’s McDonogh High School, as well as with the Maryland Olympic Development Team.
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.
