University of Connecticut Athletics
2001 BIG EAST Championship Notes
11/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This week: The No. 9 Huskies have had four days to prepare for their rematch with No. 25 West Virginia in the semifinals of the 2001 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship on Friday, Nov. 9 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will immediately follow the other semifinal game, which features No. 6 Notre Dame and Boston College. The winners of Friday’s games will meet on Sunday at noon in the championship game.
Last Week: Connecticut downed Yale 2-1 on Nov. 1 in its final tune-up before the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals. The Huskies then shut out Villanova on Sunday, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals.
Last Game: Connecticut advanced to its ninth straight BIG EAST Championship semifinal appearance on a lone goal by senior Mary-Beth Bowie on Sunday to down Villanova 1-0 at Morrone Stadium in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Bowie notched her fourth goal of the season and her second game winner in the last four games at the 25:23 mark when she took a shot from the right end line from an improbable angle. The shot curled toward the goal, and Villanova keeper Janel Schillig tried to push the shot over the top of the net for the save, but the ball deflected off her hand and just inside the far post for the score. Senior goalkeeper Shanna Caldwell remained undefeated in eight starts in goal and was forced to make only one save en route to her fifth shutout. UConn’s eighth straight win of the season improved its all-time record against Villanova to 12-0-1 and 4-0-0 in BIG EAST postseason meetings. Since the conference expanded the tournament to include eight teams in 1998, the Huskies have shut out their opponent in every quarterfinal appearance.
UConn In The BIG EAST Championship: Connecticut has been to the BIG EAST Championship every season since joining the league eight years ago. The Huskies own a 10-8-0 record in the conference postseason and have finished as the runner-up seven times.
UConn In The Semifinals: This weekend will be UConn’s ninth straight appearance in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals. The Huskies sport a 7-1-0 record in semifinal games, with the lone loss coming against eventual champion St. John’s in 1994. In eight semifinal games, Connecticut has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 20-4 and have pitched four shutouts.
UConn In The Finals: The story for the Huskies in the BIG EAST Championship has been the same for eight years–always a bridesmaid, never the bride. UConn has been to the championship game seven times in eight years but has yet to win the title. The Huskies have advanced to the finals the past six years but have lost to Notre Dame each time. Four out of those six games have been decided by only a goal. UConn also faced Providence in the championship game in 1993 but lost 1-0.
Scouting the Mountaineers: West Virginia comes into Friday’s semifinal game having won its last six games and ranked 25th in the NSCAA/adidas Poll. The Mountaineers, who are making their third BIG EAST postseason appearance, haven’t lost a game since falling to UConn back on Oct. 12. The Mountaineers are led by reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Katie Barnes, who has made a serious case to retain that honor with 12 goals and nine assists for 33 points. That scoring mark ties her for best in the conference with Rutgers’ Carli Lloyd. Barnes also tied teammate Chrissie Abbott for tops in divisional scoring, as the two both finished with 12 points. Abbott, who has a team-best 13 goals on the season, scored a pair of goals in West Virginia’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over Miami. The duo has accounted for 57 percent of the Mountaineers’ goals this season and have paced the team to an average of 2.4 goals per game. Goalkeepers Melissa Haire and Laura Finley have split time in the net this season, though the two have combined for five shutouts and a 0.83 goals against average.
The Series: Friday’s game will be the seventh between the two schools, a series the Huskies have owned. UConn is 6-0-0 all-time against West Virginia since the teams’ first meeting in 1996, and the Huskies have outscored the Mountaineers 25-1 during that stretch. West Virginia’s lone goal in the series came back in 1998, a game the Huskies won 2-1 in overtime in Morgantown, WV.
Last Meeting: The two teams last met earlier this season on Oct. 12, a game the Huskies won 1-0. That contest marked the only time this season the Mountaineers have been held scoreless, as senior goalkeeper Shanna Caldwell made a season-high eight saves in her first start of the season to secure the win. Though the UConn defense held West Virginia’s Katie Barnes without a goal, the senior forward got off six shots and forced Caldwell to make numerous diving stops. The Mountaineers outshot the Huskies 19-11 for the game, but it was freshman Zahra Jalalian’s only shot of the game that mattered. Jalalian came off the bench for the start of the second half and tallied her first collegiate goal five minutes into the stanza. Senior Mary-Beth Bowie crossed a ball into the box from the right side. With West Virginia keeper Laura Finley running to intercept the ball, Jalalian charged the play, sliding to get to the ball first and poking it past Finley into the net. Bowie was credited with the assist, her third of the season. The win started UConn’s current winning streak of eight games, its longest since winning 11 in a row in the 1999 season.
Scouting the Eagles: Boston College comes into Friday’s semifinal game against Notre Dame as the only unranked team in the NSCAA/adidas Poll among the four championship participants. That hasn’t deterred the Eagles at all, who slugged out a 4-3 win over Rutgers in the quarterfinals on Sunday to win their fourth straight game and reach the semifinals for the fifth time in school history. Boston College has reached the championship game only once before, falling to St. John’s in 1994. The Eagles are led by forward Sarah Rahko, who has nine goals and eight assists for 26 points this season. Meghan Moore stands a point behind with nine goals and seven assists, and the duo has paced the team to 41 goals in 20 games. Goalkeeper Elyse Meredith stepped in early in the season to take over in the nets. She’s started the Eagles’ last 15 games and has pitched four shutouts while allowing 1.33 goals per game.
The Series: If the Huskies were to meet Boston College in the championship game on Sunday, the meeting would be the 31st between the two schools. UConn holds the 24-4-2 edge in the series, though Boston College snapped its 13 game losing streak to the Huskies earlier in the season. Connecticut also holds a 2-0-0 record over the Eagles in BIG EAST postseason play.
Last Meeting: The two teams last met earlier this season, with Boston College earning the 2-0 win in Chestnut Hill, MA. The Eagles got an early goal from Lindsay Fairweather to take the 1-0 lead three minutes into the game, and Meghan Moore tacked on another in the 57th minute for insurance. Goalkeeper Elyse Meredith made 10 saves on the day, as the Huskies outshot the Eagles 18-11.
Scouting the Irish: Notre Dame comes into Friday’s semifinal against Boston College having won six of its last seven games, including a 2-0 victory over St. John’s in the BIG EAST quarterfinals. The Irish are ranked sixth in the NSCAA/adidas Poll and have lost only two games all season. Amanda Guertin, who leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and six assists for 26 points, has scored a goal in her last six games. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Wagner has played in every game this season and has five shutouts to her credit. She’s only given up 14 goals in 1,567 minutes, good enough for a 0.80 goals against average that ranks her second in the conference. The Irish, who have won the BIG EAST Championship the past six years, are 20-0-0 in conference postseason play and have outscored their opponents by an 86-9 margin.
The Series: If the Huskies were to meet Notre Dame in the championship game on Sunday, it would not be an unfamiliar scenario. The two teams have met six times in the BIG EAST postseason, each time in the championship game. The Huskies are 0-6-0 against the Irish in the BIG EAST postseason and 3-10-2 overall.
Last Meeting: The two teams last met earlier this season on Oct. 21 in Storrs, CT, with the Huskies taking down the Irish 3-1 on Senior Day at Morrone Stadium. Three seniors scored goals for UConn, which beat Notre Dame for the first time since the 1997 NCAA Tournament semifinals and first time ever on its home field. Casey Zimny netted her first goal of the season early in the second half on a free kick from 18 yards out. Alexa Borisjuk followed suit 10 minutes later, hoisting up a shot from 35 yards out that beat the Irish keeper for a 2-0 lead. After Amanda Guertin cut the lead to one, Jennifer Amaio notched her first goal of the season a minute later to put the Huskies up 3-1. Senior goalkeeper Shanna Caldwell made eight saves on the day, as UConn became the first team since Santa Clara on Oct. 17, 1999 to score three goals against Notre Dame.
Shutout City: Senior Shanna Caldwell and the UConn defense have only allowed two goals in the last eight games. The shutout against Villanova in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals was UConn’s 11th of the season. The Huskies were the only team to hold West Virginia scoreless all season, a 1-0 win back on Oct. 12 when the Mountaineers were ranked 21st in the nation. UConn owns shutouts against four other ranked teams this season (Massachusetts, Miami, Harvard and Dartmouth). West Virginia has posted five shutouts this season, the last coming in the conference quarterfinals against Miami (2-0).
Two’s A Perfect Number: Though the Huskies haven’t allowed a team to score more than two goals the entire season, the difference between allowing one goal to two is astounding. When UConn allows less than two goals a game it has a perfect 16-0-0 record. However, the Huskies have lost the four games in which they’ve allowed a pair of goals.
Is Bowie Back?: Senior Mary-Beth Bowie led UConn last season with 12 goals and seven assists for 31 points, but the midfielder had struggled to find the net through the first 16 games of the season. In her last four games though, Bowie has netted three goals, including the game winner against Villanova in the first half in Sunday’s BIG EAST quarterfinals. Before that, she netted the game winner in overtime to defeat No. 18 Harvard on Oct. 24 and had a goal against Yale on Nov. 1. She also has three assists for a total of nine points this season, ranking her fourth on the team in scoring.
Shanna Steps Up: Senior goalkeeper Shanna Caldwell had only seen time in two games off the bench before becoming the Huskies’ starter in goal after the Boston College game. In fact, she hadn’t even made a start since the 1999 season. However, the win against Villanova in the BIG EAST quarterfinals improved her record to 8-0-0 on the season as a starter, and her goals against average stands at a miniscule 0.25. The Williamsburg, VA native got her first start this season against West Virginia on Oct. 12 and has shown no signs of giving it up. She has posted five solo shutouts and combined with junior Maria Yatrakis for another during the stretch.
And A Freshman Will Lead Them: Freshman Kristen Graczyk’s game-winning goal against Yale on Nov. 1 was her team-leading ninth of the season. That’s good news for the Huskies, who have won their last four games by one-goal margins. Graczyk broke out of a scoring slump on Oct. 19 against Pittsburgh. The forward from Albuquerque, NM started the season with seven goals in her first eight games but had gone six scoreless games before netting the winner against the Panthers.
In the Polls: After wins over No. 25 Dartmouth, Yale and Villanova last week, the Huskies held steady in the NSCAA/adidas Poll for a third straight week at No. 9. Top-ranked North Carolina remained the only undefeated team in the poll at 16-0-0. The rest of the top five shifted, as Santa Clara moved up a spot to No. 2 and UCLA jumped from No. 5 to No. 3. Losses by Stanford and Portland dropped them to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Notre Dame also remained static at the No. 6 spot after wins over No. 22 Michigan and St. John’s, and West Virginia got back into the poll at No. 25 after dropping out last week. In the NSCAA Northeast Regional Poll, Connecticut also held steadfast at the top spot, with Harvard in second place. Dartmouth, Boston University and Hartford round out the top five in the region.
Tack On One More: UConn’s win against Pittsburgh on Oct. 19 guaranteed the program’s 23rd straight winning season since its inception in 1979. The Huskies’ all-time record currently stands at 384-102-24 and 360-92-22 in the Len Tsantiris era.
Down The Stretch: No matter how the team starts off the season, Coach Tsantiris always seems to have them playing well by the time the postseason rolls around. With the win over Yale on Nov. 1, Tsantiris’ teams have put together a 45-14-4 record since 1981 during the last three games of the regular season. The Huskies have now swept the last three games of a regular season nine times, and only once (1992) have they lost the last three.
BIG EAST Northeast Champions: The Huskies sealed their third straight BIG EAST Northeast Division title against Syracuse on Oct. 5. The 3-1 win over the Orangewomen, coupled with Boston College’s upset win over Miami, was enough to clinch the title with one game remaining.
BIG EAST Blitz: Senior Shanna Caldwell was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 29 for the second straight week, giving the Huskies their final conference nod of the season. The 2001 season was a good one for UConn and weekly BIG EAST honors. UConn earned one of the four awards (Offensive, Defensive, Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Week) in seven out of eight weeks and four times had a pair of honorees in the same week. The Huskies also exceeded their number of winners from the past two seasons combined. Other interesting notes:
• The Huskies led all BIG EAST teams in selections with 11. Notre Dame was next with seven, followed by Boston College with four. West Virginia, Rutgers and Villanova each had three while Miami, Virginia Tech and Syracuse each had a pair. Pittsburgh had one selection this season.
• Eight different players earned honors for the Huskies during the season, the most by any team in the conference. Notre Dame was next in line with six.
• UConn was the only team to have a selection for each of the four awards. In fact, a Husky player was selected at least twice for each award.
• Connecticut was one of two teams (Notre Dame) to have three different players earn a selection in the same category. Freshmen Kristen Graczyk, Abby Shepherd and Zahra Jalalian all earned Rookie of the Week honors at some point in the season.
• The Huskies were the only team to have a player selected in the same category (Rookie of the Week) in four different weeks.
BIG EAST Preseason Awards: In a preseason poll of conference coaches, the Huskies were picked to win the 2001 BIG EAST Northeast Division regular season title. Connecticut senior Casey Zimny was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Notre Dame’s Vanessa Pruzinsky. Also joining Zimny on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was senior forward Mary-Beth Bowie, the team’s leading scorer last season.
Zimny Earns More Honors: In addition to BIG EAST accolades, Casey Zimny was also named a College Soccer Online Preseason All-America Honorable Mention. Having started and played in all 26 games last season, Zimny and the UConn defense held opponents to 0.8 goals and 7.7 shots per game and shut out the opposition 14 times.
Bigger is Better: The NCAA Executive Committee has approved the expansion of the field for the Division I women’s soccer championship, effective with the 2001 tournament. The women’s bracket will expand from 48 to 64 teams, with 28 conferences being awarded an automatic berth and the remaining 36 teams receiving at-large bids. In 1998, the tournament expanded from 32 teams to 48. The selection date is November 12.
