{"id":20546,"date":"2010-09-08T08:17:12","date_gmt":"2010-09-08T12:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=20546"},"modified":"2010-09-13T08:45:28","modified_gmt":"2010-09-13T12:45:28","slug":"mens-soccer-faces-challenging-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2010\/09\/mens-soccer-faces-challenging-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"Men’s Soccer Faces Challenging Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>Andrew<\/a>
Defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste, right, a freshman, with the ball during a soccer game against Boston University at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Men\u2019s soccer teams in the Big East will continue to find UConn\u2019s Joseph J. Morrone Stadium one of the most difficult places to visit in 2010, as the Huskies begin the season ranked as the top team in the conference and, according to this week’s NSCAA poll, No. 10 in the nation.<\/p>\n

Head coach Ray Reid enters his 14th season in Storrs with 20 returning players and nine talented newcomers. The new players are considered among the year\u2019s top recruiting classes, and they will help fill the void left by the departures of midfielders Toni Stahl and Mike Pezza and defenders Cruz Hernandez and Kwame Watson-Siriboe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have experience, for sure,\u201d Reid says. \u201cThe concern is that of our top 17 players, eight are freshmen or sophomores. They\u2019re very good. \u2026 [But] it reminds me of our 1998-1999 team. You knew you had something, but you need time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That team of players eventually won the 2000 NCAA men\u2019s soccer championship.<\/p>\n

Among the heralded rookies are midfielders Qian Grosvenor from Trinidad and Juho Karppinen and defenders Andrew Jean-Baptiste, an NSCAA High School All-American, and transfer Nickardo Blake, an NJCAS All-American.<\/p>\n

\"<p>A<\/a>
Play begins against Boston University at the Joseph J. Morrone Soccer Stadium Aug. 28. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2010 schedule will test the Huskies with five nationally-ranked opponents \u2013 Maryland, Boston College, and Big East rivals St. John\u2019s, South Florida, and Louisville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve challenged ourselves a bit,\u201d says Reid. \u201cI think we\u2019re better off getting knocked [during the season] and knowing our team, than going into the NCAA tournament and not knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

An experienced group of eight returning starters will lead the Huskies. Junior midfielder Tony Cascio led the team in scoring during 2009, and sophomore Carlos Alvarez hopes to improve over his stellar freshman year, which ended with 2009 Big East Rookie of the Year honors. They are joined in the midfield by sophomore Jossimar Sanchez, who started in all 19 games.<\/p>\n

Cascio says he is looking to improve his game by reacting to each situation rather than over-thinking his play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s when I\u2019m at my best, just playing the game and having fun,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to know when to dribble and when to pass. I\u2019ll get into streaks sometimes when I want to play the ball. Other times I want to break people down and make opportunities for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alvarez credits his teammates for his successful freshman season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole team helped me, but I want a championship as a group,\u201d he says. \u201cI want the team to get better every day. I hope to get it with the help of my teammates and coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<p>Players<\/a>
Players congratulate Alan Ponce, second from left, after he scored a goal against Boston University. UConn won 1-0. Photo by Peter Morenus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Senior goalkeeper Josh Ford will return to the nets for his final year as the Huskies all-time leader in shutouts (39) and fourth in career wins, with 42.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the records I set were because of the people before me,\u201d Ford says of his defenders. \u201cThey helped out defending, clearing the way for balls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid says Ford is very consistent: \u201cFrom day one he\u2019s done a great job. He makes you very comfortable. We want to attack a little bit more, knowing we\u2019ve got him back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reid says his young players will need time to learn how to play with their veteran teammates, but he likes their early progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a really good mentality to the team. They see the big picture,\u201d Reid says. \u201cAs a coach you try to make sure they\u2019re on the same page. I think this group is on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the men\u2019s soccer schedule, go to the Athletics website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2010 schedule will test the Huskies, with five nationally-ranked opponents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[55],"class_list":["post-20546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 18:42:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20546"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20953,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20546\/revisions\/20953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20546"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=20546"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}