University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
South Carolina
No. 7/8 Huskies Overpower South Carolina 4-0
9/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The No. 7/8 University of Connecticut men's soccer team blanked South Carolina 4-0 on Sunday afternoon to conclude play at the Gamecock Classic. With two victories on the weekend, UConn wins the 2010 Gamecock Classic.
With the win, the Huskies remain undefeated at 5-0-1 on the year while South Carolina drops to 2-2-1 overall.
Tony Cascio scored his second goal of the weekend as he put UConn up 1-0 early in today's contest. Cascio broke through the middle of a group of Gamecock defenders into the 18-yard box and lined a shot into the back of the net behind South Carolina goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. His goal at the 2:49 mark was the 11th of his career.
In the 13th minute, Nickardo Blake had a perfect cross through the 18-yard box where he found sophomore Stephane Diop who caught Maurer off guard in the goal box to tally his third goal of the year. Blake picked up his first assist of the season, while Cascio also earned an assist on the play, for his third of the year.
South Carolina's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 18th minute with their first shot of the contest as Will Traynor's shot hit off the cross bar and was cleared away by the UConn defense. The Huskies battled the home team in 90-degree weather and dominated the Gamecocks all 90 minutes of play.
In the 49th minute, sophomore Carlos Alvarez scored his second goal of the year to extend UConn's advantage to 3-0. UConn took a four-goal lead in the 80th minute as Alan Ponce scored his first goal of the season from the near side of the 18-yard box. Max Wasserman and Qian Grosvenor earned assists on the UConn goal.
Josh Ford made some key saves in net for UConn as he registered a season-high five saves on the afternoon. He recorded four in the first 45 minutes of play.
Ford also picked up his 42nd career shutout as UConn has outscored opponents 19-2 in six games this season.
South Carolina outshot the Huskies 8-4 in the first half to mark the first time this season that UConn has been outshot in the opening half of play. The Gamecocks finished the day with an overall 11-9 edge.
UConn's Ponce, Cascio, Blake and Jossimar Sanchez were named to the All-Tournament Team, while Ponce was also named the Tournament MVP.
With the victory, UConn improves to 238-239-43 all-time in road games.
UConn will open BIG EAST Conference play on Friday, Sept. 24 as the Huskies will host USF at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased from the UConn ticket office by visiting UConnHuskies.com or by phone by calling 860-486-2724 or toll free at 877-AT-UCONN.
