University of Connecticut Athletics
The Hunt For The BIG EAST Championship Continues Friday
11/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 9, 2011
BIG EAST Postgame Highlights | Live Stats | BIG EAST Championship Central
STORRS, Conn. - The UConn men's soccer team will continue its hunt for the program's eighth BIG EAST Tournament title against Louisville on Friday beginning at 5 p.m. at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The game will air live on CBS College Sports Network and can be heard at WHUS.org/91.7 fm. Live stats can be found at UConnhuskies.com.
Connecticut comes into the game with a 16-2-2 record while Louisville boasts a 12-5-2 mark.
The Huskies, the No. 3 seed in the Blue Division, advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 rout of DePaul at home in the BIG EAST First Round and a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Rutgers in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals.
The Connecticut offense has peaked at the right time heading into the final part of the 2011 campaign. The Huskies have scored seven goals in the past two games after notching just six tallies in the previous seven contests.
Three Huskies have notched two goals in the past two games with midfielders Carlos Alvarez, Stephane Diop and center back Andrew Jean-Baptiste all scoring twice for UConn. Senior All-American Tony Cascio notched the game-winning goal with an incredible strike from 20 yards against Rutgers last weekend.
Cascio's goal was his first in 12 games dating back to September 20 at Boston College.
Connecticut comes into the game with 14 shutouts on the season, one shy of the program record set in 2000. Freshman sensation Andre Blake leads the BIG EAST and ranks second in the NCAA with a .34 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Blake has been responsible for 13 shutouts this year.
Louisville, the preseason No. 1 team in the country after falling in the 2010 NCAA Championship, advanced to Red Bull Arena with a 5-0 victory at home against Providence followed by a 1-0 result at Marquette in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals. Louisville earned the No. 4 seed in the Red Division.
The Cardinals are also in great form as of late having won four straight. Louisville has not been scored on in four games, outscoring opponents 7-0 in that stretch. The Cardinals have recorded 11 shutouts this season.
Louisville senior All-American Colin Rolfe, the BIG EAST Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year along with Cascio, leads the squad with 20 points on seven goals and six assists.
In the last meeting between the two national powers, UConn came away with a thrilling 1-0 victory in double overtime at Louisville on October 1. Diop notched the deciding goal to snap Louisville's 27-game unbeaten streak at home. That mark ranked seventh in NCAA history at the time. The Huskies are in the midst of a 22-game unbeaten streak at Morrone Stadium dating back to 2009.
The winner of Friday's contest will advance to face the winner of St. John's/Villanova being played at 7:30 Friday night. The BIG EAST Championship will begin at Noon on Sunday airing live on CBS College Sports Network.
