No. 24 UConn Cages Bearcats, 3-0

Saturday, October 6

Storrs, Conn.

7:00 P.M.

University of Connecticut

6-2-1

University of Cincinnati

3-8-1

CIN

UConn

Photo by: Stephen Slade

10/6/2018 11:41:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Gallery

STORRS, Conn. – Returning home after a brief road trip, the twenty-fourth ranked Huskies (6-2-1) used a second half surge to run away with 3-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday night. It's the fourth-straight win for the Huskies, whose record at Morrone Stadium moves to 5-0-1.

The first half was dominated by UConn. On the offensive end, the Huskies attacked early and often during the first session, breaking down the Cincinnati defense and firing off five shots within a span of 15 minutes.

The Huskies nearly jumped out in front in the 17^th minute, as Ibrahima Diop received a feed off of a corner kick, but missed the shot just wide. Just two minutes later, Dayonn Harris settled the ball about 12 yards and fired a dart that missed just wide of the net. UConn's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 29^th minute – Off a sideline throw in, Mbacke Thiam, positioned just in front of the penalty mark, attempted to head the ball into the net, but his shot sailed high of the crossbar.

Defensively, the UConn backline was focused and disciplined overall, halting any threat of a Bearcat attack. Heading into the break, the Huskies held a 12-3 shot advantage.

Although the flow of the second half remained similar to that of the first – UConn held Cincinnati to just two shot attempts- , head coach Ray Reid felt that the level of play dipped some in the second half. "I thought the first half we played really well," said Reid. "I thought the second half we got three nice, opportunistic goals...but, we were not good in the second half."

The first of the Huskies' three second half scores came in the 56^th minute. Deadlocked at 0-0, Abdou Mbacke Thiam had the ball on a breakaway, with only the Bearcat goalie standing in his way. Sizing up his man, Mbacke Thiam ripped a shot past the outstretched arms of Noah Lawrence to put UConn ahead 1-nil. Cole Venner pushed the Husky lead to 2-0 after scoring a goal – the first of his career- inside of the box from a Dylan Greenberg cross. With a minute to go in the match, Steffen Yeates tracked down a 50-50 ball, gathered himself, and laced a shot to the back of the post that put the finishing touches on the game.

Game Notes:

The Huskies held a 20-5 shot advantage over Cincinnati.
UConn's record at Morrone Stadium is 5-0-1
Both Steffen Yeates and Cole Venner notched their first career goals in a Husky uniform.
The win gives UConn a 5-2-3 lead in the all-time series with Cincinnati.

Next Up:

UConn hosts Sacred Heart in a Tuesday night contest at Morrone Stadium, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. It is Huskies and Heroes night – all current and former military members will receive free admission to the game with a military ID.