University of Connecticut Athletics
Late Field Goal Lifts Virginia Past Football, 17-16
10/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (November 18, 2007) – Senior kicker Chris Gould kicked a 19-yard field goal with 3:20 left to go to lead the University of Virginia to a 17-16 football victory over the University of Connecticut before a crowd of 60,004 at Scott Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies drop to 5-1 on the season with the loss while Virginia improves to 6-1 overall.
UConn led 16-14 with 8:06 left to play but the Cavaliers went right to work as they moved the ball 79 yards on 11 plays in the winning drive. Virginia converted on a third and five from the UConn 16 to keep the drive moving.
The Huskies took a 16-14 lead with 8:06 left to play on a 25-yard field goal by junior Tony Ciaravino (Boca Raton, Fla.). The field goal capped a nine-play, 81-yard drive that saw Virginia called for pass interference twice. Ciaravino had a total of three field goals on the day.
Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell passed for 149 yards in the win and rushed for another 66. Andrew Pearman rushed for 40 yards.
UConn junior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen (Fremont, Iowa) was 17-of-33 in the air for 176 and one touchdown. Sophomore Andre Dixon (New Brunswick, N.J) led UConn in rushing with 63 yards on 14 carries.
Virginia outgained the Huskies by a 332-254 count, but UConn held a 17-16 first down advantage.
UConn scored the only points of the third quarter on a six-yard pass from Lorenzen to junior tight end Steve Brouse (Selingsgrove, Pa.) to make it 14-13 UVa. The Huskies got possession of the ball at the Virginia six-yard line after a 32-yard interception return by sophomore safety Robert Vaughn (North Attleboro, Mass).
Virginia led 14-6 at halftime and scored the only points of the second quarter on a six-play, 65-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard pass to John Phillips from Sewell with 5:19 to play. Sewell made a key play in that drive as he rushed for 18 yards on a third and seven to put the ball at the UConn 44. On the next play, he hit Vic Hall on a 35-yard pass to the UConn nine.
UConn had a chance to score at the end of the half as it moved the ball to the Virginia nine-yard line, but fumbled the ball away.
Virginia outgained UConn 175-151 in total offense in the first half -- including an 82-38 advantage in rushing yards.
The Huskies took a 6-0 lead in the game on a pair of field goals by Ciaravino. The first one came from 45 yards out 4:13 into the game. The Huskies took possession of the ball at its own 46 after junior Dahna Deleston (East Hartford, Conn.) had a 20-yard interception return off of the first Virginia possession.
The Huskies got the ball right back after Virginia fumbled the ensuing kickoff and it was recovered by junior Cody Brown (Coral Springs, Fla.) at the Virginia 13. UConn was able to move the ball to the Virginia four and settled for the 21-yard field goal from Ciaravino.
Virginia took its first lead of the game, 7-6, late in the first quarter on an 11-play, 59-yard drive that ended with a one-yard TD rush by Keith Payne with 38 seconds left in the quarter. UVa converted on two short third-down situations on the drive.
The Huskies return to action on Friday when they return to BIG EAST play to take on Louisville at 8:00 p.m. at Rentschler Field. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
CONNECTICUT FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES
AT VIRGINIA - OCT. 13, 2007
TEAM NOTES
w With the loss, UConn dips to 5-1, still its best start to a season since opening the 1998 campaign at 7-1.
w It is the latest into a season that UConn has lost its first game since 1995 when UConn did not lose until Oct. 21 (24-19 at Rhode Island.
w UConn wraps up its non-conference schedule at 4-1. It matches the 2004 squad’s mark for the best regular season non-conference record since joining the BIG EAST.
w The Huskies have now played every current member of the ACC other than Clemson and Florida State.
w D.J. Hernandez’s second quarter fumble snapped a string of 19 consecutive red zone scores for UConn dating back to a missed field goal at Duke.
w Prior to Virginia’s first quarter touchdown, UConn had not yielded a score in the first quarter since the opening drive of the entire season on Sept. 1 when Duke scored a touchdown 1:44 into the game on a six-yard pass from Thaddeus Lewis to Brandon King. The UVa score snapped a first quarter shutout streak of 87:38 for the Husky defense.
w UConn has now scored on its opening drive in four out of six games this year (Duke, Temple, Pitt at Virginia).
w The Huskies have an interception in all six games this year and in each of their last eight overall dating back to the Nov. 17, 2006 game at Syracuse.
w Today’s attendance of 60,004 is the third largest crowd to ever see a UConn football game behind the 65,115 at Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, 2003 and the 63,879 at Kentucky on Sept. 11, 1999.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
w Robert Vaughn’s third quarter interception was his fifth of the year, leaving him one shy of the school’s Division I-A (FBS) era mark of six set by Maurice Lloyd in 2002 and tied by Justin Perkins in 2003.
w Tony Ciaravino’s two first quarter field goals gave him nine consecutive made field goals and tie him for the second longest streak in school history with David DeArmas (1994). His 52-yard miss in the second quarter snapped the streak one shy of the school record of 10, set by Matt Nuzie in 2004. The 52-yard attempt was the longest of Ciaravino’s career.
w Dahna Deleston’s first quarter interception was the second of his career and the first since Oct. 7, 2005 against Syracuse.
w Andre Dixon made his first career start at tailback.
w Desi Cullen’s first quarter punt of 58 yards was a career long and was later eclipsed by a 60-yard boot in the third quarter.
