University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Providence
Cascio Registers Six Points As Huskies Dominate Providence 4-0
10/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 6, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - Sophomore Tony Cascio registered six points on two goals and two assists as the University of Connecticut men's soccer team overpowered Providence 4-0 in BIG EAST play on Tuesday night at Morrone Stadium.
The Huskies recorded a season-high four goals en route to their sixth win of the season and fourth straight as Cascio picked up a career-high six points on the night. UConn, now 6-2-2 on the year and 5-1-0 in the BIG EAST, scored three goals in the first 21 minutes of play to take a commanding lead heading into the half time break. The Huskies added their final goal in the second half as Cascio picked up the seventh of his career.
This was the fourth consecutive shutout for the Huskies and seventh on the season as UConn has continued to dominate its opponent, not allowing a goal in 360 minutes of play throughout the past two weeks of competition.
To begin the night, Carlos Alvarez scored his first career goal 6:33 into the contest as Cascio found the freshman in front of the net after receiving pass in the goal area himself from Stephane DIOP. Both Cascio and DIOP earned their third assists of the season on the play.
UConn took a 2-0 lead in the 19th minute as Alan Ponce connected on a cross from Alvarez and found the back of the net for his third goal of the season. At the 20:57 mark, Cascio added to his point tally on the night as he drilled a shot passed Providence goalkeeper, Timothy Murray to put the Huskies up 3-0. Junior Shawn Nicklaw earned the assist on the score, his first point of the 2009 season.
The Huskies held Providence to just two shots in the first half, while they held a 10-2 shot advantage in the first 45 minutes of play.
In the second half, UConn continued to dominate, scoring its fourth goal of the game as Cascio recorded his second of the contest as he broke away from two defenders and put the ball into the bottom right corner of the net at the 59:18 mark.
Providence tried to threaten in the 72nd minute as Michael Pereira took a shot from the top of the box but UConn goalkeeper Josh Ford was able to get his hands on it for his second save of the game. UConn's Ponce had another good look in the 51st minute but his header was blocked by a Providence defender and sent wide of the net.
The Huskies saw 18 players get into the action tonight as Jordan Branco made the first appearance of his career and had a chance to extend the Huskies' lead as he broke away from the Friars' defense with five minutes remaining in regulation and got a clean shot off, but his first career shot on goal missed wide right of the target.
The UConn defense had another solid performance tonight, limiting the Friars to just five shots as the Huskies have out shot their opponent 67-25 in the last four games. In the last four straight contests, UConn has out scored its competition 8-0, while recording 27 points compared to zero for its opponents.
Ford finished the night with three saves for his seventh shutout of the season, while Murray picked up four for the Friars as they drop to 5-4-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the conference.
Alvarez finished the contest with four points on one goal and two assists, while Ponce registered one goal for two points. DIOP and Nicklaw each added an assist on the night.
UConn will travel to Morgantown, W. Va. on Oct. 9 as the Huskies will take on West Virginia in a BIG EAST Conference battle which will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8:00 p.m. The Mountaineers are coming off a 0-0 tie in double overtime to Pittsburgh as they enter Friday night's game with an overall record of 5-2-3 and a BIG EAST record of 4-1-1.
