The No. 7 Huskies men’s soccer team was seeded 11th in the NCAA College Cup and received a bye until the second round of the tournament. The Huskies, with a 12-2-5 record, will host Brown (12-3-3) of the Ivy League, which won its first round game Thursday against Boston College of the ACC, on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
Five other Big East teams, including overall No. 1 Louisville, will participate in the 48-team field, which will begin play with the first round of the tournament on Thursday. Other conference teams in the tournament include Notre Dame, Georgetown, Providence, and West Virginia.
The Huskies defeated former Big East member Boston College 2-0 on Sept. 28 in Storrs.
Head coach Ray Reid’s team will be led by All-Big East First Team selections senior captain Josh Ford, who was named 2010 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, junior midfielder Tony Cascio, who was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year, and sophomore forward Carlos Alvarez.
Ford is just the second Husky to be named the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Bryheem Hancock (2001) on that list. Ford is currently having a record-breaking season with the Huskies, as he now holds UConn’s all-time records in career wins (54), career shutouts (50), and consecutive starts (84). He currently ranks seventh among all-time Huskies with 271 career saves. This season, Ford has registered 11 shutouts and 57 saves in UConn’s 12-2-5 overall record.
Cascio is the fifth Husky to earn Big East Offensive Player of the Year honors (seven honors total) and the third player in the last four years, after O’Brian White won back-to-back in 2007 and 2008. Cascio was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team. The junior has played in 18 of UConn’s 19 games this season, and currently leads the team with 26 points on six assists and team-best 10 goals.
Alvarez, who led the Big East in assists with 11 in 2009 as a freshman, led the conference with 14 helpers on the year.
The Huskies will be making their 31st overall and 13th consecutive NCAA appearance.
Meanwhile, the 2010 season has ended for two of the women’s fall sports:
On Sunday the women’s field hockey team fell to the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins, 3-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals in College Park, Md., after defeating American University in the first round of the tournament. Hall of Fame coach Nancy Stevens’ Huskies finished the season at 16-6.
Last Friday, head coach Len Tsantiris’ women’s soccer team fell in the NCAA Tournament First Round to Hofstra, 1-0. UConn’s season ends with a 10-10-3 record.
