Update Sept. 2: The men’s soccer team defeated Michigan State on Thursday after junior Max Wasserman ’13 (CLAS) broke a tie with a free kick from 25 yards out in the 76th minute, to give UConn a 2-1 victory.
Freshman keeper Andre Blake ’15 (CLAS) made five saves to earn the victory. “These are the games we have to win, the real tough ones, ” said head coach Ray Reid. “We need these games. It was a resilient win.”
In 2010, the men’s soccer team played six games to a tie, including its NCAA game against Brown, which was lost in a shootout. It was the second straight year the Huskies were sent home after battling to a tie.
Head coach Ray Reid says that needs to change this year.
“We need this team to win those games,” says Reid, who voiced his disappointment after the Brown loss, noting that the Huskies have not converted penalty shots during the past few seasons. “It’s a mental thing as much as anything. We win games by more than a goal, but we need to win those [shootout] games. They are tight all the way.”
Reid will test the mental toughness of his nationally ranked Huskies (4 Soccer America/5 NSCAA) early in the 2011 season, beginning with Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. game at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium against No. 19 Michigan State, the first of 10 NCAA tournament teams from 2010 that UConn will face this year. Those include another home game against (7/20) California on Sept. 4, followed by a two-game road trip against Tulsa and (5/7) SMU the following weekend. The schedule includes (25/23) Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Big East members (1/1) Louisville, (12/9) Notre Dame, West Virginia, Providence, and Georgetown.
“It’s going to be a tough schedule, but we did that because we want to challenge this group,” says Reid, who begins his 15th year leading the Huskies. “They need to be challenged.”
Part of the Huskies’ challenge is making up for the loss to graduation of goalkeeper Josh Ford ’11 (CLAS), who rewrote the men’s soccer record book in Storrs, and the experienced defenders Robert Brickley ’11 (ENG), Greg King ’11 (CLAS), Shawn Nicklaw ’11 (CLAS), and Thomas Wharf ’11 (CLAS). Reid is looking to sophomore Andrew Jean-Baptiste ’14 (CLAS) to lead the corps of young defenders that will help support promising freshman goalkeeper Andre Blake ’15 (CLAS), who emerged from the pack of five keepers on the roster.
The defense will be anchored with help from redshirt junior Sean Weir ’13 (ED) and senior Nickardo Blake ’12 (CLAS), with contributions from newcomers Istvan Kanyo ’15 (CLAS), Mike Mercado ’15 (CLAS), Will Noiset ’15 (CLAS), and Flo Liu ’13 (CLAS), a junior transfer from University of Alabama-Birmingham.
“We are going to change up a lot. The group [of defenders] that came in have to not only match what [last year’s seniors] did, but I feel they can do more than what they did,” Jean-Baptiste says. “It is the same group on offense up front for the most part. I expect nothing different from the top players this year.”
The Huskies will have plenty of firepower on offense with the return of their top four scorers, including senior All-American midfielder Tony Cascio ’12 (ED) (26 points on 10 goals, 6 assists), junior All-American forward Carlos Alvarez ’13 (CLAS) (22/4/14), junior midfielder Stephane Diop ’13 (CLAS) (17/8/1), and sophomore forward Mamadou Doudou Diouf ’14 (CLAS) (13/6/1).
“We’ve got all of our attack players back,” says Cascio. “We’ve played a year together. Now that we’ve got a year under our belt, I think we’re ready to go. I feel on offense if one of us is having a bad game, we have other dangerous players to pick the other guy up. We feel good about ourselves.”
Alvarez, who credits Huskies strength and conditioning coach Chris West with helping him to increase his power and conditioning during the past two seasons, says the team is confident in its abilities on both offense and defense.
“We’re going to defend,” Alvarez says. “If they get one, we’re going to keep pushing. I trust my teammates, and this year we’re stronger in our chemistry. We’re going to go forward. I’m trying to bring a NCAA title to Storrs.”
The Huskies’ determination was evident last Saturday at the home opener against St. Francis, which was played in a rainstorm that was the prelude to Hurricane Irene. Despite the stormy conditions, about 2,200 fans saw the Huskies earn a 2-0 win, which Reid said was important as much for the playing conditions as for the victory.
“This is a tournament game for us,” he said after the game. “This is what it will be like in October and November around here and in the NCAA Tournament.”
