University of Connecticut Athletics
2003 Year in Review
12/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The University of Connecticut Women’s Soccer Team experienced a rollercoaster 2003 season. The Huskies five game unbeaten streak to start the campaign was highlighted by a 3-2 double-overtime triumph over defending national champion Portland, in the Pilot’s backyard. One of the lower points of the season was a 1-0 overtime loss to Hartford in the middle of the season; the Hawks were 2-8-0 before upsetting UConn. The Huskies regrouped to win the BIG EAST Northeast Division title for the fifth time in as many years, but then lost to Villanova for the first time in UConn Women’s Soccer history in the Quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Then something clicked, the Huskies won five games in a row for the first time all year and advanced to the National Championship game. It may have been an up-and-down year for Connecticut, but the Huskies peaked at the right time, ending the season ranked No. 2 nationally.
The 25th season of UConn women’s soccer began in the late edition of the UConn adidas classic doubleheader as the Huskies played host to Wake Forest. Each squad fashioned several solid scoring chances, but both net-minders were already in mid-season form and the two sides played to a scoreless deadlock. Erin Rice (Keller, TX) went the distance for UConn and stopped eight shots. Wake keeper Kenna Healy matched Rice’s eight shots and was assisted by two team saves from her backline.
The second day of the UConn adidas classic pitted UConn against intrastate foe Central Connecticut. Junior forward Jessica Gjertsen (Stony Plain, Alberta), who missed all but three games in 2002, scored UConn’s first goal of the season just 3:52 into the contest. Gjertsen found herself open on the right side and hit one of her patented rockets into the left side. Meghan Schnur, a highly touted freshman from Butler, PA, scored the game-winner off a feed from Kristen Graczyk thirty minutes later. Central got itself on the board five minutes before the break, but Gjertsen added two second half goals, garnering her first career hat trick.
The Huskies’ first road trip of the season was to New Britain, CT, where they squared-off with Yale on the campus of Central Connecticut in the 2003 Connecticut Women’s College Soccer Extravaganza. The Huskies out-shot the Bulldogs 12-to-5 on the afternoon en route to a 2-0 victory. Gjertsen notched her fourth goal of the season and sophomore Brittany Barakat (Arlington, TX) recorded her first.
Next up for Connecticut was a western trip to Portland, the defending NCAA champions, which could serve as a measuring stick of the team’s potential. UConn first faced Washington on Portland’s campus and UConn stormed out of the gate, capturing a 1-0 advantage just 3:38 into the contest. However, Washington answered with a goal just 12 minutes later to knot it up, and neither team would score again in regulation or the two overtime periods preserving the deadlock.
The contest against Portland followed less than 24 hours later. UConn got off to a sluggish start and fell behind the Pilots 2-0 at the 60:19 mark. However, Kristen Graczyk found the back of the net when she controlled the ball from eight yards out and fired it inside the near post to get UConn into the scoring column. Less than three minutes later, Portland committed a foul in the box, allowing UConn a penalty kick. Schnur stepped up to the challenge and blasted the ball past a diving Cori Alexander to knot the score up at two. The two sides exchanged good scoring chances through the remainder of regulation and into the second overtime session to no avail. But Graczyk lifted the Huskies to victory with a 20 yard shot that snuck under the crossbar with less than one minute remaining in the game, giving the Huskies a victory they could hang their hat on. Schnur was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for her weekend efforts.
Connecticut returned to Storrs for a BIG EAST cross-divisional match-up with #15 West Virginia. The game was an evenly played contest as both teams managed 17 shots on the evening. However, UConn was outplayed in the first half, being out-shot 8-to-3 and heading into the locker room down 1-0 after a Laura Kane goal off the game’s first shot. The Huskies held a 9-to-6 advantage on shots on goal, but Lana Bannerman turned away every Husky shot to preserve the victory. The loss was the first suffered by the Huskies in 2003 and was especially rewarding for the Mountaineers. UConn had defeated West Virginia 1-0 in last year’s BIG EAST Tournament final at Morrone Stadium.
The Huskies blew off some steam against visiting Long Beach State with a 5-0 victory just two days later. UConn peppered the 49’ers with 23 shots and also stymied the LBSU attack, allowing them to take only two shots on the day. Gjertsen scored two more goals and added an assist. Graczyk and Barakat also added a goal, and Elisa Pirinen (Espoo, Finland) scored her first goal of the season just 28 seconds after entering the game.
UConn began BIG EAST Northeast play and a four game road swing with a trip to Miami on September 26. The trip started in disappointing fashion with a 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Coral Gables. Lindsey Yach scored twice in the first half for the ‘Canes, but Gjertsen cut the lead in half with a score early in the second session. However, that was as close as UConn would get as Miami added another goal to take the 3-1 decision and hand the Huskies only their second loss to a Northeast Division counterpart since divisional play began in 1999.
Connecticut headed north to Blacksburg just two days later and again came out flat, falling behind 2-0 to Virginia Tech. However, the Huskies rattled off five consecutive goals to take a 5-3 lead. Schnur got the scoring started for UConn and assisted on the next two. Those three goals came less than seven minutes apart. Junior Zahra Jalalian (Auburn, WA) scored the game-winner at 46:50 off of Schnur’s fourth assist of the season.
UConn began its five game BIG EAST Northeast Division winning streak when the Huskies handed No. 20 Boston College its first loss of 2003. The fact that this match-up pitted the two top teams in the Northeast Region was cause for further intrigue. The Huskies came out on top against the Eagles, winning a 2-1 decision thanks to an overtime game-winner off of Barakat’s foot six minutes into the first extra period. UConn out-shot BC 13-to-8 in the game and the Eagles’ only goal came when the Huskies shot themselves in the foot with an own goal.
The Huskies concluded their four game nomadic stretch, with a 3-0 triumph over Pittsburgh. Graczyk’s seventh goal of the season turned out to be the game-winner. She added her eighth goal of the season to insure a Husky victory in the second half. Graczyk’s three goal week earned her ECAC and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Huskies looked to be getting their sea legs under them after the trip in which they won three out of four games, a solid showing for such a young squad. But the next couple of games the Huskies embarked on were filled with frustration. UConn welcomed Hofstra to Storrs on October 9th in the first of two mid-season non-conference match-ups. The Pride came into the game with a 9-1-1 record, but employed a game plan that called for ten defenders in the goal box. UConn out-shot Hofstra 30-to-6 on the evening, but the two sides played to a scoreless deadlock. Next up was a short trip to the University of Hartford, where UConn would square-off with its instate foe. The Hawks came into the game with a 2-8-0 mark after losing several seniors to graduation. Hartford employed the same strategy of packing the box against the Huskies and UConn again mustered shot after shot, but could not find the back of the net. Connecticut managed to out-shoot Hartford 31-to-7, but it was Hartford’s seventh shot that mattered most. Stephanie Pothier took advantage of a ball that took a wicked bounce in UConn’s box, and snuck it past Rice two minutes into overtime. UConn out-shot its opponents 61-to-13 that week, but came away with a 0-1-1 mark.
October 15 was not a good day to be on the Providence women’s soccer team. The Huskies welcomed the Friars to Storrs for a Northeast Division match-up and one could feel that UConn was ready to break out offensively. Graczyk snapped a Husky scoreless streak of 246:16 at the 40:18 mark. It was Graczyk’s ninth goal of the season and came off an assist from Schnur. Barakat, Elisa Pirinen and Schnur also tallied goals to give UConn an important BIG EAST win. The Huskies were now 8-3-3 overall, 3-1 in conference play.
Next up for the Huskies was a trip to South Bend to take-on the No. 2 nationally- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. UConn would fall 2-0 to the undefeated Irish, and were out-shot 11-to-4 on the evening. Since this contest was a cross-divisional match-up, it would not count towards BIG EAST standings. The Huskies would now head home to close out the regular season.
UConn could take one more step towards clinching its fifth-straight BIG EAST Northeast title with a victory over St. John’s. The Huskies fell behind 1-0 early in this contest, but rallied to score four unanswered goals, including the game-tying and game-winning goals by Graczyk just two minutes apart early in the second half. Kristi Lefebvre and Jessica Gjertsen added second half goals to insure a Husky victory. UConn took the lead in the Northeast Division and it was not a lead it would relinquish.
The Huskies wrapped up the Northeast Division Title with a rout of Syracuse on October 25. Just thirty minutes after she was honored in senior day festivities, Jen Zieky scored the first goal of her career which was preceded by Graczyk’s game-winner at 25:45. Graczyk added two more scores for a five goal week, Zieky notched her second career-goal and Gjertsen scored just for good measure en route to UConn’s 6-0 BIG EAST regular season finale. Graczyk was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and she and Zieky were placed on the “Soccer America” Team of the Week for their efforts.
UConn entered postseason play as the BIG EAST Northeast Division’s #1 seed, and was paired with the #4 seed out of the Mid-Atlantic Division, the Villanova Wildcats. UConn would be forced to play the game without Co-BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Meghan Schnur, and BIG EAST All-Rookie Team member Nikki Cross who were both out due to injuries. The game against Villanova seemed too good to be true. The Huskies had never lost to the Wildcats since the series began in 1983 (13-0-2) and had ousted Villanova from the BIG EAST Tournament five times. Furthermore, UConn, which is the only team to qualify for every BIG EAST Tournament since its inception in 1993, had failed to advance past the first round only once; a 1-0 loss to St. John’s in the 1994 semifinal. But even with history on UConn’s side, Villanova pulled off a 1-0 upset of UConn in Storrs. Patricia Misciagna scored the game’s only goal at 38:59 and the Wildcat defense held UConn scoreless, handing the Huskies their first loss in the BIG EAST Quarterfinal round since the tournament expanded to eight teams in 1998.
The 1-0 loss to Villanova on November 2 turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The banged-up Huskies now had nearly two weeks to regroup and heal before the NCAA Tournament began on the 14th. In the meantime, four Huskies were honored at the BIG EAST Postseason Awards Banquet; Kristen Graczyk was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in every offensive category. Graczyk was the first Husky to earn the prestigious honor since Kerry Connors in 1996. Meghan Schnur shared BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors with Notre Dame’s Christie Shaner. Schnur was second only to Graczyk in assists during league play with five. Jessica Gjertsen earned mention on the All-BIG EAST Second Team and newcomer Nikki Cross was placed on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team after she anchored the Husky backline all year long.
With both Schnur and Cross back in the starting lineup, UConn journeyed to Newton, Massachusetts to take on Boston University on the campus of Boston College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the Huskies 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament; a feat matched only by North Carolina. UConn out-shot the Terriers 25-to-9 on the afternoon, but the score was tied in the game’s 85th minute. Midfielder Jennifer Sullivan served the ball to Gjertsen who fed Graczyk in the box. Graczyk faked out her defender and found enough daylight to blast a shot past the Terrier keeper. Graczyk’s goal turned out to be the game’s lone goal, as UConn advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round to face intrastate foe Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils upset host and No. 15 seed Boston College in the first round.
The Huskies romped CCSU earlier this season in Storrs, but the Blue Devils were a different team on November 16. Central got on the board 22:09 into the contest on a Laura Duncan goal, and held the Huskies scoreless for the remainder of the first half. However, Nikki Cross and Kristi Lefebvre scored just 1:30 apart in the second half to take a 2-1 edge. It looked like the Huskies would hold on, but Jen Frisch found the back of the net for Central at 82:22 to knot the score up at two. Neither team registered a shot in the first overtime session, but Graczyk came up huge yet again for the Huskies when she scored in the game’s 106th minute to propel UConn into the round of 16.
UConn’s bracket, which had looked rather formidable, was now shaping up to be an easier route to Carolina after the first two rounds. The Huskies were nearly certain that they would have to face Notre Dame, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, in the round of 16. However, Michigan registered one shot on goal against the Irish and that was enough to steal a 1-0 victory in South Bend. Furthermore, No. 7 Virginia was beaten by Villanova in PK’s in the second round, so as long as they kept winning, the Huskies would be playing at home until the College Cup.
No. 24 Michigan, traveled to sunny Storrs, CT to take on the Huskies for a berth to the NCAA Quarterfinal. UConn dominated form the start, as Brittany Barakat scored a quick goal just over four minutes into the contest, and UConn scored four more times for an easy 5-0 shutout victory of a good Michigan team, which had advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Final. Nikki Cross scored her second goal of the season after Coach Tsantiris decided to move her up to striker during the Central game and she excelled in UConn’s offensive third throughout the Tournament, registering eight points. With the domination of the Wolverines, UConn advanced to the quarterfinal for the 10th time in 11 years.
The only thing standing between UConn and the College Cup, were the Cougars of Brigham Young University. BYU defeated BIG EAST Tournament Champion Villanova to advance to the quarterfinals and came into Storrs with an impressive record of 16-6-3. However, UConn stormed out of the gate in the first half, scoring three goals in an eight minute span to take a 3-0 lead into the locker room. Cross scored UConn’s second goal, the eventual game-winner, and assisted on the Huskies’ two other goals to lead Connecticut over BYU, 3-1, and into the College Cup for the seventh time; its first appearance since 1997.
The four remaining teams in Women’s College Soccer were unseeded Connecticut, No. 11 Florida State, No. 4 UCLA and the No. 1 overall seed, North Carolina. UConn was pitted against FSU for a December 5th semifinal at SAS Soccer Stadium in chilly Cary, NC, live on ESPN2. The Huskies and the Lady Seminoles played to a scoreless first half, in which each side had several good scoring chances. Senior keeper Erin Rice came up huge in the contest, stymieing FSU’s chances with acrobatic saves and crafty interceptions. Graczyk notched her eighth game-winner of the season when she scored in the game’s 62nd minute off a beautiful cross from Jessica Gjertsen. Graczyk added UConn’s second goal at 81:51 to seal the deal and lead the Huskies into their fourth appearance in the Final. Only Notre Dame and North Carolina can boast that many appearances in the National Final.
UNC advanced after upending UCLA 3-0 and the stage was set for the National Championship game. UNC had defeated UConn in its other three appearances in the National Championship, and UConn was yet to score on Carolina in the Final. UNC had not allowed a goal in the NCAA Tournament in 2003, outscoring its opponents 26-to-0 in five games. If the Huskies could pull it off, it would go down as one of the bigger upsets in the 22 years of the Tournament.
UConn did have a couple early opportunities in to take an early 1-0 lead in the Final. Meghan Schnur was open in the corner near UNC’s goal, and she struck a cross to a cutting Graczyk in the penalty area, but the ball was narrowly intercepted by a UNC defender to thwart that chance. Jessica Gjertsen found herself open early and attempted to chip the ball over the keeper’s head from about 25 yards, but the ball sailed just over the crossbar, and into the seats.
UNC notched two first half goals and UConn attempted to answer by moving more people up top. The strategy was a necessity, but with only three players back, UConn could not fight off the Tar Heel attack as effectively and UNC scored four second half goals, including a curious score with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. For their efforts Kristen Graczyk and Jessica Gjertsen were named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. Graczyk scored six goals and added three assists en route to becoming UConn’s all-time goals and points leader in NCAA Tournament play. Gjertsen scored one goal and added seven assists in six tournament games. Her seven assists place her atop the Husky assists list in NCAA Tournament play; Jennifer Tietjen notched six helpers in four years.
2003 HIGHLIGHTS
Kristen Graczyk –
Recorded her 100th career point in UConn’s 3-2 double-overtime victory over Central Connecticut.
Seventh place on UConn’s all-time points list with 112; 54 points behind all-time leader Moira Buckley on the all-time list).
Became UConn’s all-time leader in points and goals scored in NCAA Tournament play with 25 and 10 respectively.
Broke Carmie Landeen’s 1997 record for most points and most goals by a junior. Graczyk’s new record is 20 goals and 52 points.
Named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and honored as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year.
Jessica Gjertsen –
Notched seven assists in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Gjertsen is now UConn’s record holder for most assists in NCAA Tournament play with seven. Jennifer Tietjen (1995-98) was the previous record holder with six.
Ended the season with 13 goals and 10 assists for 36 points
Named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team
Meghan Schnur –
Dished out 9 assists and recorded 19 points in a standout freshman campaign.
The Huskies were 8-0 in 2003 when Schnur recorded an assist
Named BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Year
Nikki Cross --
Scored three goals and added two assists in four games as a forward.
Named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team after anchoring the Husky backline for most of 2003.
