No. 25 WVU Faces No. 13 UConn
October 08, 2009 03:22 PM | General
October 8, 2009
Connecticut Match Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team and Connecticut will battle on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 4 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Admission is free to the public.
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| Jason Bristol scored the game-winning goal for WVU at home in 2007 to help upset then-No. 1 ranked Connecticut.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
In the last meeting between the two programs, sophomore Alex Silva tallied the game-winning goal in front of 4,407 fans to give WVU the upset victory at then-No. 7-ranked UConn, 1-0, last year on Oct. 3.
"Our team has a good knack for rising to the occasion, and certainly getting an opportunity to play on national television and showcase our program, state and university is a fantastic opportunity for our guys,” coach Marlon LeBlanc says. “This young team has a lot of heart and perseverance. Even though Connecticut is going to be a big challenge for us, our kids will come out, play fearless and play for the win."
The Mountaineers enter the contest with a five-match unbeaten streak, owning a 5-2-3 overall mark, including a 4-1-1 record in the BIG EAST. Last time out on Oct. 6, WVU and Pitt finished in a scoreless draw. WVU set season-highs in shots (18) and corner kicks (14). Freshman Abel “Shadow” Sebele recorded a game-high four shots, and redshirt junior goalkeeper Zach Johnson made two saves en route to his sixth shutout this season – the 26th of his career.
Offensively, WVU is led by Silva and Sebele, who each have five points through 10 games. Silva has tallied two goals and one assist, while Sebele owns one goal and three assists this year.
In between the posts, Johnson has started all 10 matches, playing 984 minutes in goal. He has allowed only six goals, while making 26 saves. Johnson’s 0.55 goals-against average ranks 24th nationally.
"Connecticut is a great program,” LeBlanc says. “They are the benchmark program for the BIG EAST with national championship history and BIG EAST Conference Championship history. We have an awful lot of respect for UConn, their players, their coaches and what they do. We're a pretty big underdog in this game and UConn comes in here on quite a roll. I think it's going to be a fantastic game on national television."
Connecticut is riding a four-match winning streak and owns a 6-2-2 overall mark, including a 5-1-0 record in the BIG EAST. In their last match, the Huskies defeated Providence, 4-0, on Oct. 6. Tony Cascio led the team with two goals and two assists, and Alan Ponce and Carlos Alvarez each tallied a goal in the win. UConn out-shot the Friars, 17-5, with eight shots coming on-goal.
Offensively, Cascio leads the team with 14 points (5 g, 4 a). He has registered 20 shots, nine on-goal. Ponce has scored three goals this year and Kwame Watson-Siriboe has two scores.
In between the posts, Josh Ford has started all 10 contests. He has allowed six goals and made 30 stops, for an .833 save percentage. Ford owns seven clean sheets this season.
The Huskies are under the guidance of Ray Reid, who is in his 13th season with the program and owns a 183-66-26 mark. Last year, Connecticut posted an 11-5-6 overall mark, going 6-3-2 in BIG EAST play. UConn fell to DePaul in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, but advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to Creighton, 2-1, in overtime.
