College

Happy Thanksgiving from Soccer New England!
November 24, 2005


UConn Men 2-0 Stony Brook

Three minutes after coming on as a substitute, Kevin Burns put UConn ahead in the 64th minute and O'Brian White added an insurance goal with a minute left to see the eighth-seeded Huskies through against Stony Brook in second round of NCAA Tournament action at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. The Huskies will take on Akron, which defeated West Virginia 5-0, in the third round on Sunday at 1pm in Storrs. This will be the first trip to the third round of action since the 2002 season when UConn advanced to the quarter-finals.

Willis Forko was the architect of Burns’ goal, as he controlled the ball on UConn’s offensive end before sending a cross to White in front of the goal, who header fell for Burns, who poked it into the net from four yards out to notch his second goal of the season. The goal was more than UConn deserved, as it had dominated the game from its early stages.

UConn’s offense was steadfast from the opening whistle, putting up ten shots in the first half and twelve in the second, while the Huskies defense stifled the Seawolves counterattack to account for a 22-3 shot advantage and a 7-2 corner kick margin. Wednesday’s game marks the thirteenth shutout for the Huskies, moving this year’s team into third place in the school record books for season shutouts and elevates goalkeeper Adam Schuerman’s ever-growing record to 38 scoreless career games.

Schuerman’s counterpart, Stony Brook’s E.J. Xikis, was stellar between the pipes, stopping eight shots from UConn’s unwavering attack to keep the Huskies at bay until midway through the second period. White had several good looks up front and led the barrage of shots with nine on the day, but despite several good opportunities for the freshman forward and Dori Arad in the first half, the game remained scoreless until Burns came through.

The Seawolves had its best period following the opening goal and had two close chances to score in the ensuing ten minutes. Michael Palacio brought the ball downfield for Stony Brook and his long-range shot forced Schuerman to make one of his two saves on the day. Chris Scarpati came back with it in the 76th minute and played the ball deep in the penalty box to draw Schuerman out of the six-yard area. The senior keeper batted the ball out of play to set up a corner kick for Stony Brook, but UConn’s defense prevented them from taking advantage of the opportunity.

The Huskies continued to push forward down the stretch and finally capitalized in the 89th minute. Chukwudi Chijindu brought the ball in from midfield, bypassing Stony Brook’s defense and bringing the keeper, Xikis, off his line. Unable to get a clear shot off, he passed the ball to White from the goal line, giving him an easy chance to send the ball into the open net and secure the 2-0 victory for the Huskies.