Diop Hat Trick Propels Huskies into the Second Round of the NCAA Championship

Thursday, November 15

East Hartford, Conn.

1 PM

University of Connecticut

12-5-2

University of Rhode Island

15-5

OT 2

Rhode Island

UConn

Diop Hat Trick Propels Huskies into the Second Round of the NCAA Championship

11/15/2018 5:43:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Post Game Quotes

STORRS, Conn. – After falling behind 3-1 with 38 minutes left to play in regulation, the UConn men's soccer team used a furious second-half rally to overcome Rhode Island, 4-3, in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships.

Freshman Ibrahima Diop led the charge as the Pennington, N.J. native recorded his first-career hat trick, scoring all three goals in the second half and in the overtime period. Senior Abdou Mbacke Thiam tallied a goal and an assist, while Dayonn Harris, Felix Metzler and Cole Venner added one helper apiece, respectively.

The Huskies (12-5-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead after 30 minutes of scoreless action. On a corner kick, Dayonn Harris sent a pass over to Abdou Mbacke Thiam, who was camped out inside the box. Mbacke Thiam finished the play, heading the ball home to give UConn the early one-goal advantage at 33:24.

URI (15-5) responded quickly with a goal of their own in the 37^th minute. Tyler Dickson headed home a feed from Pedar Kristiansen off a corner kick to knot the score at one. The Rams took a 2-1 lead just two minutes later after Dickson found the back of the net again on a similar play– this time with the assist from Dominik Richter.

The Rams extended their lead to 3-1 after a goal in the 52^nd minute.

UConn, a group that's been battletested all season long, showed its resiliency and refused to go away, launching the comeback effort beginning with a goal in the 75^th minute. After Abdou Mbacke Thiam's shot outside of the box was initially blocked, the deflected ball found its way over to Colle Venner, who dropped the ball off to Ibrahima Diop in the box for the finish, cutting the deficit to one goal.

The Huskies found the equalizer in the 79^th minute – Felix Metzler rocketed a pass to a streaking Diop who scored the breakaway goal, knotting the score at 3-3.

With neither team able to find the back of the net over the final 10 minutes, UConn and URI headed to overtime.

The Huskies threatened early in overtime and nearly ended the game in the 95^th minute, but Ibrahima Diop's shot in front of the box was blocked at the last second.

Diop wouldn't be denied again, as the freshman delivered the decisive final blow – converting a header off a beautiful pass from Mbacke Thiam to complete the hat trick and rip out the heart of the Rams!

Up Next…

UConn advances to the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, traveling to Bloomington, Indiana for a rematch with No. 2 Indiana. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Stay tuned for more details.