University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Rutgers
No. 21 Huskies Drop 2-1 Decision to Rutgers
9/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 20, 2009
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers used two second half goals to come from behind to defeat the No. 21 UConn men's soccer team 2-1 in a BIG EAST Conference contest at Yurcak Field on Sunday night.
Rutgers improves to 4-2-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the BIG EAST, while the Huskies move to 2-2-2 on the year and 1-1-0 in the league.
Three minutes into the contest, UConn goalkeeper Josh Ford made his first save of the night as Rutgers's Ibrahim Kamara took a pass inside the goal area and kicked it to towards the near post as Ford made the diving stop.
The Huskies took the 1-0 lead early as sophomore Tony Cascio recorded his first goal of the season as he stole a pass from a Rutgers' forward and was able to kick it over the Scarlet Knights' diving goalkeeper at the 9:47 mark.
In the 30th minute, senior Mike Pezza sent a free kick from a yard outside of the box on the far side of the field into the goal area to a jumping Toni Stahl, whose header was grabbed in front of the net by Rutgers' Adam Klink. After the Cascio goal, Rutgers had to change goalkeepers because of an injury to Jake Grinkevich.
Robert Brickley used some impressive defense in the first half to keep the Scarlet Knights scoreless as he used his body to block two consecutive shots with under four minutes remaining on the clock to keep the Huskies ahead 1-0 heading into the halftime break.
Rutgers' took the first shot of the second half as Nate Bourdeau's header was grabbed out of the air with both hands by Ford for his second stop of the contest. Bryant Knibbs connected on a free kick from 25-yards out in the 51st minute but missed high of the crossbar.
Freshman Carlos Alvarez's shot from the top of the box in the 52nd minute was saved by a diving Klink in net before the ball was cleared out by a Rutgers' defender. Another header by Rutgers' Kamara was stopped short of the net as Kwame Watson-Siriboe intercepted the shot just wide of the far post.
After a foul called inside the goal area against the Huskies, Rutgers' tied the game with a penalty kick by Yannick Salmon at the 61:12 mark. The Scarlet Knights took a 2-1 lead as Salmon scored yet again in the 69th minute.
The Huskies kept attacking the net, while with 17 minutes left in the game, Pezza's free kick sailed high of the net, keeping the Scarlet Knights on top 2-1. Alvarez made a great move down field to get past a defender but his shot missed wide right.
Ford finished the night with three saves for the Huskies in net, while Klink made three stops as well.
UConn will return to Storrs on Friday, Sept. 25 as the Huskies will host No. 13/7 St. John's at Morrone Stadium at 7:00 p.m. The first 500 fans to donate a soccer ball for KICK FOR NICKTM at the St. John's match will receive a pair of complimentary men's soccer tickets to the Huskies' Oct. 14 game against Harvard. The Huskies will also face Syracuse on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 6:00 p.m. to begin a four-game BIG EAST home stand.
