Strong defensive and offensive efforts propelled the University of Connecticut men’s soccer team to a record of 17-6 overall, 7-3 in the BIG EAST conference. The Huskies made their league-best 18th appearance in the 2002 BIG EAST Championship and earned a bid into the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season and 23rd overall time. UConn had a seven-game win streak midseason and remained undefeated at 11-0 on its home field.

Led by the duo of senior Damani Ralph (Kingston, Jamaica) and junior Cesar Cuellar (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), UConn outscored its opponents, 51-22, in 2002. The duo combined for 34 goals, and 14 of the team’s 17 game-winners. Ralph notched a team-high 18 goals and five assists for 41 points, including nine game-winners, several in crucial situations. Ralph was named the 2002 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, an All-BIG EAST First Team member and a four-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week. He was one of 15 finalists for the prestigious M.A.C. Hermann Trophy award, was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-New England First Team and was a NSCAA/adidas Second Team All-American. Cuellar scored 16 goals and assisted on three others for 35 total points, also hitting four-of-five penalty kicks attempts. For his efforts he was chosen to the All-BIG EAST First Team and was a two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, while he was also selected to the NSCAA/adidas All-New England Third Team. Also adding a spark off the bench was senior Michael Mordocco (Dix Hills, NY), one of the only other Huskies to see time on the frontline. Mordocco saw time in 18 games tallying three goals and three assists for nine points, plus the game-winning penalty kick in UConn’s victory over St. John’s in the BIG EAST semifinals.

The midfield position was the deepest for the Huskies in 2002. Anchoring the position in all 22 games was freshman Leandro de Oliveira (Sao Paulo, Brazil), who created many scoring situation for Ralph and Cuellar but also added three goals and seven assists of his own. Two of the three goals were game-winners at Pittsburgh and against Portland. BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and senior Anthony Curtis (Kingston, Jamaica) was hampered by injury throughout the season but still managed to see time in all but three games. He was vital to the play making of the team as he added eight assists. Rookie Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) filled the void that Curtis left at the center midfield position playing a defensive role. Senior Rui Fernandes (Bridgeport, CT), junior Lindon Pecorelli (La Crescenta, CA) and sophomore transfer Andres Rota (Kingswood, TX) completed the outside of the midfield. Fernandes, a tri-captain, saw time in 21 games (18 starts), scoring two goals and four assists for eight points, while Pecorelli, a BIG EAST Third Team member, played in 18 games, earning 16 starting nods. Rota also helped in the playmaking department, adding seven assists and one goal for nine points. Stepping in off the bench was sophomore transfer Stephen Arias (Bakersfield, CA), who also had five starts to his credit, and sophomores Ian Quattrocchi (St. Louis, MO) and William Osorio (Miami, FL).

The back line was key to UConn’s road to the NCAA quarterfinals. The Huskies allowed only 22 goals against and stifled opponents to 0.95 goals and 9.8 shots per game. Sophomore Shavar Thomas (Kingston, Jamaica) and sophomore Marcus Svensson (Kivek, Sweden) were the mainstays as the central defenders. Thomas was selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team and was a two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week. He was also named to the NSCAA/adidas All-America Second Team and to the NSCAA/adidas All-New England First Team. He scored two goals, both headers off corner kicks, and two assists for six points. An All-BIG EAST Second Team member, Svensson played and started in all 23 games in his rookie season at UConn notching one goal and two assists. Senior captain William Thornton (York, PA) and Andrew McLeod (Kingston, Jamaica) topped off the defensive quad on the flanks. Thornton earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors. He started in all 23 games and averaged 89-minutes per game, the most of any field player on the team. McLeod scored one goal and assisted on four other from the backfield, playing in all 23 games. Seeing the most time off the bench at the defensive position was sophomore Joe Coyle (Belle Meade, NJ).

Rookie Adam Schuerman (Brookfield, WI) had control of the goalie position playing in all but 15 minutes in 2002. He allowed 22 goals and recorded 76 saves for a goals against average of 0.95. He posted 11 shutouts in 2075 minutes played. Red-shirt Freshman Peter Lechak (West Hartford, CT) played the last 15-minutes in UConn’s win over Georgetown on October 5. He recorded one save during the game.

Heading into the 2002 season, UConn was ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Huskies opened 2002 exhibition play with a convincing 4-0 win over preseason No. 11 St. Louis at Morrone Stadium on August 18. The following weekend, UConn played to a 2-2 tie against defending national champion and preseason No. 4 North Carolina before a crowd of 2,002 fans at SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary, NC.

UConn opened its regular season play and BIG EAST schedule on the road against Seton Hall. The Huskies held the 2-0 lead at halftime, but the Pirates fought back scoring three second half goals for the 3-2 win. The Huskies bounced back with three straight shutout wins at home. Hosting the annual UConn Soccer Classic, the Huskies claimed the tournament title with wins over American (3-0) and UNLV (5-0) on September 8 and 9. Cuellar had three goals in the tournament, including two penalty kicks against the Rebels. The tournament’s Offensive MVP was awarded to Ralph and the Defensive MVP went to Schuerman. Ralph then went on to notch both goals in UConn’s first BIG EAST win of the season, a 2-0 victory against West Virginia on September 14.

Boston University halted Connecticut’s three game win streak and handed UConn its second loss of the season in a 1-0 shutout in Boston, MA on September 17.

Connecticut played its next four games on the road, the start of a seven-game win streak. On September 21, UConn defeated Pittsburgh, 4-1, behind two goals from Cuellar. The Huskies then traveled to the left coast for the Husky Nike Classic hosted by the University of Washington on September 27 and 29. UConn claimed the tournament title in Seattle with victories over No. 11 Portland (2-1) and Washington (2-0). Ralph scored two goals and assisted on another in the victories, while Thomas was named the Defensive MVP. Upon the team’s arrival back home, UConn traveled to No. 15 Boston College, taking the 1-0 shutout on a Ralph goal.

Back at home for three games, UConn overpowered Georgetown, 5-1, on October 5 before a season-high crowd of 5,011 fans. Cuellar scored a natural hat trick to help improve UConn to 8-2-0 overall, 4-1-0 in conference play. UConn fell behind 1-0 to Providence in a midweek game, but a penalty kick from Cuellar and a game-winning nod from Ralph helped the Huskies edge the Friars, 2-1. With the game locally televised on CPTV, UConn put on a show upending No. 5 Maryland, 2-0 at Morrone Stadium on October 12. Ralph scored his team-leading 11th goal in the game and helped the Huskies capture their sixth shutout of the season.

The Huskies dropped two in a row on the road, both to BIG EAST opponents. On October 20 in South Bend, IN, Notre Dame stole the 3-1 victory scoring three straight goals in the second half. The following weekend, Connecticut participated in the St. John’s Classic in Jamaica, NY. Using a penalty kick early in the second half, No. 3 St. John’s shut the Huskies out and handed them their second loss in two games. On October 26, Ralph scored two goals to lift UConn over Adelphi in the Classic’s second day of action.

Ending with two BIG EAST games at home, UConn completed the 2002 regular season campaign with a record of 13-4 overall, 7-3-0 in the BIG EAST. On October 30, Ralph and Cuellar each notched a goal to defeat Virginia Tech, 2-0. On Senior Day, in which the soccer program honored its seven graduating seniors, Cuellar netted his second hat trick of the season in the Huskies 4-2 win over Syracuse.

Connecticut earned the three seed in the 2002 BIG EAST Championship, the first time since 1997 the Huskies were not the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Ralph scored in the 19-minute to help the Huskies advance to the BIG EAST semifinal game with a 1-0 win over the No. 6 seed Rutgers in Storrs on November 9.

On November 15, Connecticut took revenge on St. John’s eliminating the No. 2 seed and second ranked Red Storm. UConn recorded two come-from-behind goals from Ralph to tie the score and send the game into penalty kicks after two scoreless overtime periods. After each team made five successful kicks, with each team missing one, UConn’s Mordocco took a shot to the left of SJU’s keeper to propel UConn into the finals of the BIG EAST Championship. Once again, UConn found itself down by two goals in the tournament finals when they faced No. 1 seed and 14th ranked Boston College. An own goal and a nod from Cuellar helped the Huskies to rally but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles captured the BIG EAST title with a 3-2 win.