UConn Sports Roundup, November 3rd, 2011

Here's to great years for both of our hoops teams!

Men's Basketball: Good showing in the exhibition last night as the Huskies beat  American International by a convincing score of 78-35. Jeremy Lamb had 17 points and Shabazz Napier had 15. Ryan Boatright did not play due to eligibility issues. Let's look forward to the actual season, but first the second exhibition, Sunday vs. CW Post at XL Center. The first real game is Friday, November 11th vs. Columbia at 7:00 PM.

Women's Basketball: The women host Assumption in an exhibition at 7:30 PM at Gampel. Coverage is on UConnHuskies.com and WTIC.

Men's Soccer: The first round of the Big East Tournament will be tonight at 6:00 PM at Morrone Stadium. The Huskies will host DePaul. With a win, we will face off on Sunday afternoon at Rutgers at 1:00 PM. Currently, the Huskies are #4 in the RPI computer rankings but only 7th in the Coaches' Poll. Top four teams in the NCAA Tournament are assured of home games through the quarterfinals and then the neutral-site College Cup. If we can win the Big East Tournament, we have a good chance of being one of them.

Field Hockey: And of course, the Field Hockey Big East Tournament is this weekend. Tomorrow at 12:30, the Huskies face the Louisville Cardinals at 12:30 PM. Then, the host team Syracuse will play Villanova at 3:00 PM. The winners face off on Sunday at 1:00 and all games are free live online at Bigeast.tv.

UConn Huskies Sports Roundup, October 27th, 2011 (UPDATED)

Here we go again. Heading into a big weekend, here is today's roundup.


Men's Soccer: In a crucial Blue Division matchup, the Huskies defeated Marquette, 3-0. The Huskies are now 14-1-2 on the season. Allando Matheson opened the scoring and Mamadou Doudou Diouf added two more as UConn rolled to victory. This pulls us within one point of the Golden Eagles for first place in the Blue Division. If we can beat Seton Hall Saturday night, then with a Golden Eagles loss or tie to Pittsburgh, we will win the Blue Division outright. A win would earn us a first-round bye and a home quarterfinal as the #2 see regardless of what Marquette does. The game vs. the Pirates gets underway at 7:30 PM and will be on WHUS. The Golden Eagles will host Pitt at 8:05 Eastern, or 7:05 PM CT local. And really, we should beat Seton Hall. They're 0-7-0 in Big East play. Then again, they did manage a scoreless tie with Maryland. This could be a trap. Update: According to the Seton Hall athletic website, the game will now start at 1:00 PM. It should still be on WHUS, though I have not confirmed tis.

Football: An ugly loss for the Huskies last night, falling 38-20 to Pittsburgh. So much for turning this season around. We now fall to 3-5 overall and 1-2 in Big East Play. In order to get to a bowl, we will need to get through Syracuse, Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincinnati with at most one loss. Not happening. This season is likely over for us.

Men's Ice Hockey: The Huskies will play their first home game of the year tonight when Atlantic Hockey foe Holy Cross comes to Freitas Ice Forum at 7:05 PM. The action will continue Saturday night at 7:05 as they face Army at home. Currently, UConn is 2-2-1 and 1-0-0 in AHA play.

Field Hockey: The Huskies will look to clinch the Big East regular season title outright tomorrow at 3:00 PM when they face Rutgers. Gametracker will be available on Rutgers' website, but no webcast. The Huskies will hen face Princeton on Sunday at 2:00 PM to wrap up the regular season.

Baseball: Just a reminder, the tentative 2012 baseball schedule is up on my site here.

UConn Huskies Sports Wrapup, October 24th, 2011

It's still Sunday Night, but here we go. Exciting day, indeed.

Marie Elene Bolles scored the
game winner to lead the
 Huskies to victory

Field Hockey: The Huskies defeated Syracuse in Double Overtime, 3-2. They thus clinched at least a share of the Big East title and secured at least a share of the regular season title. They can clinch it outright by beatng Rutgers next Friday. The Huskies are now an amazing 15-1 on the season. The game was very exciting throughout. Cara Silverman got things started in the 14th minute off a Penalty Corner but the Orange scored two goals within two minutes of eachother early in the second half to go up 2-1. The Huskies bounced back, however, as Anne Jeute scored at 49:37 to even the game. It would go to overtime, and eventually in the second OT,  Jeute played a long ball into the circle and Marie Elene Bolles poked it home for the game winner.

Women's Volleyball: A tough loss for the Huskies today. They lost to Georgetown 3-2. The Huskies lost the first set but took the next two. But Georgetown won set #4 25-20 and #5 went 15-11 in favor of the Hoyas. So went the match. The Huskies are now 1-7 in the conference and 11-12 overall. Jordan Kirk had 15 kills while Mattison Quayle and Devon Maugle each had 14. Next up, the Huskies host Notre Dame and DePaul, next Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM.

Football: Gameday is only two days away (from Monday) as the Huskies will roll into Pittsburgh to face the Panthers. I'll write more on that tomorrow along this week's awars.

UConn Sports Roundup, October 23rd 2011

Farewell Tony Cascio. You will be missed.
Other seniors, good bye to you too.

Men's Soccer: On Senior Night, the #1 Huskies took on the Georegtown Hoyas in a crucial Big East Blue Division showdown. However, in spite of outshooting GU 18-8, UConn managed only a scoreless draw. Sure, we had plenty of opportunities.  A lot of shots seemed to sail just wide or just high. We also nearly allowed a last-second goal (literally) but it sailed just over the bar as time expired.  Bad luck for us tonight. Let's hope this two-game winless streak doesn't become a trend. The Huskies are still in second place in Blue Division with 14 points and are one point ahead of Notre Dame and Providence for the last bye. Marquette has 18. The Huskies will face the Golden Eagles Wednesday at 7:30 PM. That game is on WHUS and All-Access.

Laura Diclemente dashed
UConn's hopes and dreams
today.

Women's Soccer: A heartbreaking finish to the season for the Huskies. Jessica Shufelt gave the Huskies a 1-0  edge for much of this contest, but ultimately, they surrendered two goals in the final nine minutes to lose 2-1. Needing only a draw to advance to the Big East Tournament, it looked like the Huskies would get it done, But Laura Diclemente scored at 80:59 to tie it, and again with 38 seconds left to win it. Once again, bad luck for us tonight.

Women's Ice Hockey: Finally, some good news! UConn defeated Maine yesterday, 3-0. Sami Evelyn, Taylor Gross, and Christine Bauer all netted goals for the Huskies. Nicole Paniccia started in goal after relieving Alexandra Garcia yesterday. She made 32 saves and did not allow a goal. I would not be too surprised if she started from here on out. Next up, the Huskies will be in Syracuse for two non-Conference games Friday and Saturday. Friday will be at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 4:00 PM. This was our first win of the year, improving us to 1-5-2, and 1-1-0 in Hockey East.

Men's Ice Hockey: The Huskies fell 5-0 to Merrimack in a non-conference game. For the first 19 minutes, it looked like it would be close as it was 0-0. But Merrimack scored a goal and kept them coming. But they're the #12 team in the nation so this was hardly unexpected.

Syracuse will be looking to celebrate again. The Huskies
want to stop them. Tune in today at Noon and see
who wins the Big East regular season title. 

Field Hockey: The day has finally arrived. UConn vs. Syracuse. Winner wins the Big East regular season title. But it looks like Louisville is going to get the #4 seed, thus making it less illustrious than we first thought. Of course, Syracuse gets to host the tourney either way, so we'll be looking for revenge from last year when they came to us. The winner of the Big East Tournament will also likely host an NCAA Regional. If they're the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament as well, they almost certainly will. So let's hope we win this game. It will be on All-Access at noon. Next weekend, we head to Rutgers on Friday at 3:00 to wrap up Big East play, then face Princeton Sunday, October 30th at 2:00 PM to wrap up the regular season.

Women's Volleyball: Huskies are in Georgetown today. Video is available on the Hoyas' website. Next up, the Huskies will host Notre Dame and DePaul on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM, respectively.

UConn Sports Update, October 21st

Let's take a look ahead to the weekend. The football team is off, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything going on.

The Huskies will host the Maine Black
Bears tonight and tomorrow.
(Goblackbears.com)

Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies open up their Hockey East schedule at home tonight as they face the Maine Black Bears. The Huskies are 0-4-2 while the Black Bears are 4-2-0 so this should be a very tough matchup. Face-off is at 7:00 PM on WHUS and Huskies All-Access. The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 2:00 PM, also on All-Access.

Women's Volleyball: Fresh of their first conference win of the season, the Huskies will go on the road tonight and Sunday. Tonight at 7:00, they travel to Villanova, where they face the 13-8 (5-2 Big East) Wildcats. Video is available on 'Nova's website. Then, on Sunday afternoon, they'll be in Georgetown for a 2:00 PM contest. The Hoyas are 2-5 in Big East and 10-10 overall. Video for that is on the Georgetown website.

Senior Midfielder Tony
Cascio will be honored on
Saturday night as a fitting
end to a great career as a
Husky. (New England Soccer
News)

Men's Soccer: It's Senior Night at Morrone Stadium tomorrow evening at 7:30. The Huskies will host the Georgetown Hoyas in a crucial Big East Blue Division Showdown. Also, the game has SOLD OUT! Lionel Brown, Nickardo Blake, and Tony Cascio will be honored before the game. UConn suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night to West Virginia and will look to bounce back. Currently, the Huskies are two points back of Marquette at the top of the Big East Blue Division, and one point ahead of the Hoyas and Mountaineers. This will be a critical stretch run, ending with the game vs. Marquette on Wednesday night (the Huskies wrap-up their season on Saturday the 29th at Seton Hall, but the Pirates are in last place in the Blue Division and have not won a conference game yet, so that should be an easy win). In any case, tomorrow's game will be on WHUS as well as on All-Access.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies will wrap up their season on Saturday as they head to Providence for a 1:00 PM contest on WHUS. Those in Rhode Island can watch this game on Cox Sports, but everyone else will have to listen to audio or use GameTracker. With a win or tie, the Huskies will clinch a spot in the Big East Tournament,  and will play in an Opening Round match on Thursday afternoon. If they win today, that match will definitely be at home. With a tie, St. John's can overtake them on the tiebreak if they beat Syracuse, and the Huskies will go on the road. Should the Huskies lose, they would still make the Tournament if St. John's doesn't beat the Orange, but once again, that would be a road game. The Red Storm play at 7:00 PM tonight against Syracuse. You can watch that game on the Red Storm website. This means that come tomorrow, we will know exactly what we need to do to get a home game in the Tournament, and to get a game at all.

Men's Ice Hockey: The Men's Ice Hockey team heads to Merrimack tomorrow at 7:00 PM. I have yet to find information on coverage of that game, so check back when it ends.

Field Hockey: The field hockey team hosts Syracuse Sunday at noon in a huge Big East contest. The winner, of course, will clinch the Big East regular season title, so this is likely a preview of the Championship Game, which will be in Syracuse on November 6th. But for all we said about avoiding Louisville, it may not even apply or matter. The Cardinals have lost five of six and are in fourth place in the conference, tied with Rutgers for the last Tournament spot. The Cards do own the tiebreak, however and their remaining opponent is Providence while the Scarlet Knights have to host us a week from today. We will wrap up the regular season a week from Sunday at Princeton, before heading up to the Big East Championship in Syracuse Friday-Sunday.

Women's Basketball: For the first time since 2005, the Huskies are not pre-season favorites to win the Big East. Notre Dame edged the Huskies in the poll by a mere three points, 219-216, with 9-7 on first place votes. The Huskies' first game is November 13th vs. Holy Cross.

UConn Huskies Sports Roundup for October 15th, 2011

Good early morning everybody. This is the first post to be originally posted on the Blogger site. So welcome all on this Homecoming Saturday.

Football: It's the Homecoming Game today in East Hartford. The South Florida Bulls roll into The Rent to take on the Huskies, who were clobbered last week by West Virginia. The Bulls are 4-1 on the season, but are 0-1 in conference after a loss to Pittsburgh. UConn is 2-4 overall and 0-1 in conference, and if we want much of any chance of making a bowl game, we probably have to win today. Kickoff is at 3:30 PM today on SNY and Big East Regional Television. For more information on TV, see here.

Men's and Women's Basketball: First Night was held last night to kick-off the 2011-12 season. I watchedd about five minutes on ESPN3 then remembered why I didn't like it last year either. Incredibly pointless show.

Men's Ice Hockey: In their AHA opener, the Huskies defeated Army, 5-0. Goalkeeper Garret Bartus earned his first career shutout and Cole Schneider scored two goals en route to the victory. Last week's AHA Player of the Week Brant Harris scored a goal as well. The Huskies are now 1-1-1 on the year (1-0-0 AHA) and will face UMass-Lowell on the road in a non-conference game Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies defeated Pittsburgh 1-0 last night at home to improve to 7-6-2 overall and 4-3-2 in the Big East. Linda Ruutu scored for the Huskies as Jessica Dulski recorded a shutout. With the Providence loss to West Virginia yesterday, UConn can clinch a berth in the Big East tournament if they beat West Virginia on Sunday at 1:00 PM. That Senior Day game will be aired by Huskies All-Access and WHUS. The Mountaineers are second in the American Division. A Providence loss or tie to Pittsburgh would also send the Huskies through. If UConn loses/ties and Providence wins, it will come down to next Saturday's matchup in Providence.

Women's Ice Hockey: UConn made a valiant effort against #5 Minnesota-Duluth, but just couldn't get it done, losing 5-4.  It was a hard-fought game throughout, good considering the Bulldogs played us twice last year and beat us by a combined score of 12-0. The two teams square off again today at 4:00 PM before the Huskies open up Hockey East play next weekend against Maine. On Friday at 7:00 and on Saturday at 2:00, the Black Bears roll into Freitas Ice Forum. Both game are available on All-Access.

Men's Soccer: The shutout streak may be over, but we're still #1 and will look to keep it that way tonight at 7:30 PM against Pittsburgh. That game is on Huskies All-Access, but apparently not WHUS (who has the football game). The Panthers are 2-2-0 (but only 4-8-1 overall), good for fifth place in the Blue Division. The Huskies are 3-0-1 in Big East play, which places them in second place in the division, behind Marquette, who is 6-5-2 overall but 4-0-0 in Big East play. Georgetown and West Virginia are right behind the Huskies, at 3-1-0. UConn has yet to play any of those three teams, and following the Pitt game, will play all three of them consecutively.

Women's Volleyball: The Huskies look to win their first Big East game tonight as they host the St. John's Red Storm at Gampel Pavilion at 7:00 PM. St. John's is 9-13 overall and 0-5 in Big East play, so this could easily be our first win of the year. Next weekend, we head to Villanova on Friday at 7:00 PM before taking on Georgetown Sunday at 2:00 PM. 

Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies will host Princeton tomorrow at 2:00 PM. Gametracker is available through the UConnhuskies.com website. The bigger game is next Sunday at Sherman as the Huskies host the #5 Syracuse Orange. That game will determine who wins the Big East Field Hockey Regular season championship. Of course, that team will face a much easier First Round matchup at J.S. Coyne Field on November 4th, while the other one will likely face #20 Louisville just to get to the Championship game. And there will likely only be one regional hosted by a Big East team this year, so UConn and Syracuse both will be looking to win the title. Not to mention, the Orange came to Sherman last year for the Big East Tournament and beat us in the final, so we'll be looking to get revenge.