Huskies to Face Top-Seeded Boston College in BIG EAST Championship Game

Game Notes

The University of Connecticut men’s soccer team will look to capture its fifth conference title when the Huskies face the top seeded Boston College Eagles in the championship of the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament.  The championship game will be held on Sunday, November 17 at 12 noon at Rutgers’ Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ.

Connecticut, seeded No. 3 in the tournament, upset No. 2 seeded and nationally ranked St. John’s University on Friday evening on penalty kicks at Yurcak Field.  BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Damani Ralph (Kingston, Jamaica) and the Huskies came from behind to score two goals in the last 20-minutes of play to send the game into two 10-minute scoreless overtimes, and then the penalty kick rounds.  In the first round of five kicks per team, each scored on four attempts. St. John’s goalkeeper Bill Gaudette saved UConn’s first attempt by Anthony Curtis (Kingston, Jamaica) and SJU’s Chris Corcoran missed over the net on SJU’s third try. In the second round of kicks, each scored on their first attempt. UC goalkeeper Adam Schuerman (Brookfield, WI) stopped the Red Storm’s attempt by John Carrozza. Michael Mordocco (Dix Hills, NY) propelled the Huskies to the victory on the next try. It marked the fifth time a BIG EAST Championship game has been decided by penalty kicks, and the first time since 1996 when Rutgers beat St. John’s in a semifinal shootout. The last time the Huskies had a game decided by penalty kicks was in 1990 against Seton Hall in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, a defeat for UConn.

Boston College (15-4) earned a 2-0 victory over No. 5 seed Georgetown in the second semifinal. After a scoreless first half, the No. 14 ranked Eagles took a 1-0 advantage on a goal by senior forward Casey Schmidt. Junior midfielder Kirt Dorsett added an insurance tally with 3:13 to play.

Connecticut and Boston College have never met in the BIG EAST title game. Earlier this season, the Huskies posted a 1-0 win at BC on a goal by Ralph.

The Huskies are currently ranked fifth in the nation with a 15-4 overall record.  Ralph, who has notched 17 goals and four assists for 38 points including eight game-winners to lead the squad.  Schuerman has tended net all season accumulating 63 saves on 16 goals against for an average of 0.84.  His 15-4 record boasts nine shutouts. 

Sunday’s championship game will be televised live by the following networks: Madison Square Garden Network, Fox Sports Net Florida, New England Sports Network (NESN), Empire Sports (N.Y.). The following networks will broadcast the game on a tape-delay basis: Comcast Sports Net Philadelphia (Nov. 17, 1 p.m. EST); Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (Nov. 17, 12:30 p.m. EST); Fox Sports Net Chicago (Nov. 18, 1 p.m. EST); Comcast Sports Net Washington (Nov. 17, 4 p.m. EST).