University of Connecticut Athletics
BIG EAST Men's Soccer Action
11/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 3, 2010
FIRST ROUND MATCH UP
UConn will begin the postseason with a BIG EAST First Round match against DePaul on Thursday, Nov. 4 at Morrone Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. The Huskies enter the contest with an 11-2-4 overall record and are seeded third in the Blue Division. DePaul is the sixth seed in the Red Division and have an overall record of 4-9-5 on the year.
UCONN IN BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PLAY
The Huskies are 27-16-3 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games dating back to the 1982 season. The Huskies last tournament win came in the 2007 final against Notre Dame as UConn blanked the second-seeded Irish 2-0 in Storrs, Conn. UConn earned its seventh BIG EAST Tournament title with the victory. In the last two seasons, UConn has lost both quarterfinal matches 1-0, losing to DePaul in 2008 and Providence in 2009, both at home.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HUSKIES
The Huskies are currently led by Tony Cascio who has a team-high 24 points on a team-best nine goals along with six assists. Cascio has registered two games this year with two or more goals and has recorded four game-winners. Carlos Alvarez has a team-high 12 assists and 20 points along with four goals. Stephane Diop has seven goals on the year and one assist for 15 points. UConn is outscoring its opponents 36-5 on the year, including a 15-2 clip against BIG EAST opponents.
Josh Ford is looking for his 54th career victory tonight to break the Huskies' all-time wins record. He currently stands at the top of the list tied with Matt Chavlovich (1996-99) with 53 career victories. This season, Ford has 52 saves and has registered 10 shutouts along with 11 wins.
LAST TIME OUT
Juho Karppinen scored two goals as UConn blanked Pittsburgh 2-0 on the road on Halloween afternoon. Karppinen netted the game-winner in the 58th minute, which was also his first career goal at UConn. He added his second of the contest less than three minutes later on a UConn penalty kick. Josh Ford earned his 53rd career victory with the win as he registered two saves. Ray Reid earned his 199th win while at UConn with the 2-0 decision.
FORD IN THE RECORD BOOK
Josh Ford has developed into one of UConn's top goalkeepers as he ranks at the top amongst all-time Huskies in consecutive starts (82), shutouts (49) and shutouts in a single-season (13-2009), while he is tied for first in wins with 53 in his career with Matt Chavlovich (1996-99). He is just one win away from breaking the UConn record. With 266 career saves, Ford ranks seventh among all-time save leaders at UConn.
SERIES INFORMATION
DePaul leads the all-time series with the Huskies 2-0-0 as the two programs have only met during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. DePaul defeated the Huskies 1-0 in both contests. On the road, UConn fell to the Blue Demons 1-0 in regular season action on Sept. 23, 2007, while in 2008, UConn dropped a 1-0 decision to DePaul at home during BIG EAST Tournament play.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS
DePaul earned a crucial 2-0 victory at Rutgers to keep the Blue Demons' playoff hopes alive as they enter the night seeded as the sixth team out of the Red Division. Led by Alex Mangan, DePaul is 4-9-5 on the year and 1-5-3 in BIG EAST play. Mangan has a team-best 14 points on six goals and two assists, while Antonio Aguilar has five goals and two assists for twelve points. Willy Lara has a team-best three assists. In net for DePaul has been both Joe Ferrari and John Michael Kulnig. Ferrari has allowed 17 goals in 11 games and has made 42 stops. He has three wins and three shutouts this season.
THE Ray Reid FILE
Ray Reid enters his 14th year as the head coach of the UConn men's soccer program as he boasts a 199-70-32 record at UConn. In his career, Reid is 345-87-47 in his 22nd overall year as a head coach. Reid's teams at UConn have garnered seven BIG EAST Regular Season titles, four BIG EAST Tournament titles, and the 2000 NCAA National Championship.
WEEKLY HONORS
Juho Karppinen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly honor roll on Nov. 1 after scoring both goals in UConn's 2-0 win at Pittsburgh on Halloween. They were his first career goals as he led the Huskies to victory.
IN THE RANKINGS
UConn has been ranked No. 9 in the nation, according to the NSCAA/Hendrickcars.com rankings, College Soccer News, and the Soccer America Top-25 Poll. Soccer Times Poll has the Huskies as the No. 8 team. The most recent RPI ranks the Huskies as the No. 18 team in the country among DI programs.
THE ROAD TO RED BULL
The 2010 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship will be held at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. on Nov. 12 and 14. For more information log onto BIG EASTSoccer.com.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
The Huskies are 458-177-49 all-time when playing at home. (There were no teams during the 1943-45 seasons and the 1941-42 seasons did not have home/away records available)
UConn has not lost at home this season as the Huskies hold a 7-0-2 record at Morrone Stadium.
NEXT UP
The winner of the Thursday night contest will move on to play Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 7 in Ohio. A time for that contest has yet to be determined.
