Where We Go From Here: A Look Ahead to the Next Few Months

As of the end of last week, I have been officially cleared to return to UConn from medical leave next semester. This was not unexpected, but now it's finalized. Of course, I still have housing and class registration, but that's simple and happens every semester. Not a big deal. But as for how this effects this blog:

In keeping with my style, I will be writing full posts  about every game I attend, and keeping track of them in the Log and Spreadsheet (see above). I also plan to go into more detail than I have been doing in last year. It's basically a "see wat works and go with it" kind of thing. So that will still be there.

However, I will also devote more space to analysis of UConn Sports in general, including games I did not attend. I was criticized last year for not discussing the Fiesta Bowl or basketball national championship. So yes, I'll be discussing what's going on in games that I'm not physically at. Which brings me to my next point.

For the next few months, I will be writing some expanded posts about specific games. These will mainly be games I watched either on TV or All-Access, but we'll see what's easiest. Once I go back, these posts will likely be limited to what I attend, with a few exceptions (such as National Championship Games and games of similar caliber). But the daily (or nearly daily roundups) will fill return/remain. And they will be (I hope) roughly what they are now. How I want to work around the expanded post/included in round-up thing, I really don't know. But I'll figure it out when we come to it.

As for basketball tickets, I have a plan on how to make it work. I don't think it's right for me to say more for now until I actually finalize certain aspects of it. But I will have basketball tickets for the games that I'm there for.

As for the rest, we'll wait and see how it plays out...

Twitter and Tags: Blog News

What a day for UConn Athletics. I'll wrap it up after the Yankees game (I hope!). For now though, here's some brief news.

• You can now view updates from my twitter page (@gregoryakoch) on the sidebar. Will I tweet more about UConn? Maybe. We'll see. But I have some fun ideas. Let's see how things go.


• I am also using tags more in addition to categories. This has caused the Tag Cloud on the right to activate. It will be more accurate in a few weeks. It should also generate more traffic, which is good.


• Well, back to the Yankees game. Apparently someone hit either a home run or a double.

UConn Sports Roundup, September 28-30, 2011

Note: Due to Rosh Hashanah, this post includes information I would post through September 30th, which includes information on weekend contests as well, to the extent that I would mention them between now and Friday. I will likely post Friday night after sundown, but in case I don't, here goes....

Men's Soccer: Last night very nearly proved to be a disaster against lowly Yale for the Huskies. The score was 0-0 after regulation. That was only because Yale misfired just over the crossbar as time expired in the second half. It would have been a split second call as to whether it was a goal or not. In real-time it was clear it was past the crossbar (and goal line) prior to the horn, but the horn isn't automatically sounded at 0:00. There's a second delay or so. So if that ball had gone in, however they called it would have ignited furor. But thankfully for all of us, it missed high. Also thankfully, Nickardo Blake scored with one minute left in the second OT to spare us all the pain of a scoreless draw. The Huskies are a perfect 9-0-0 and will face #8 Louisville in a critical road test at 7 PM Saturday night. The Cardinals are looking to bounce back from a loss to Notre Dame and don't want to start 0-2 in Big East play to expect them to come out hungry. No word yet on whether that game will be on WHUS. GameTracker will be available however, though. Louisville currently does not list the game on All-Access although they do list future men's soccer games there. I'm guessing there's some reason none of these places can confirm that they're broadcasting it. What that reason is, I don't know.

Field Hockey: The Huskies go under the lights at Sherman tonight to face the UMass Minutewomen. The Huskies are 7-1 overall and tied for first in the Big East at 2-0 in conference. And the soccer team isn't the only Top-5 Huskies program to play Louisville in a major contest Saturday night. Louisville, who got the two seed in the Big East Tournament a year ago but was knocked out by the Huskies in the first round, will be back in Storrs for the first time since that weekend in November. That game will be on Saturday at 12:00 PM. The Cardinals are 1-1 in Big East play and 7-3 overall. And unlike the Huskies, they've already played (and lost to) Syracuse. And while regular season titles may not matter much, bear in mind that in all likelihood the "Big Three" are going to get the top three seeds in some order. And the #4 seed will be a weaker team. So the #1 seed has an easy first game (provided they don't fall into a trap) while #2 and #3 still have to fight it out to get there. Look at last year as an example. So getting the #1 seed matters here. That way come Syracuse and the first weekend in November, we can hopefully do to the Orange what they did to us last year at our place. But for now, take it one game at a time. Beat Louisville at Sherman. Then worry about the next game.

Football: The Huskies are back at home on Saturday against Western Michigan. Since there will be significant development between now and then most likely, I'll write something on this Saturday.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies will be on national TV this Friday night as they head to South Bend to face the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. This was supposed to be a good game and a rematch of the Huskies' upset last year in the Big East Tournament but both teams have disappointed. The Irish have dropped out of the poll, and the Huskies are barely .500. ESPN can't do anything now though, so that game will air on ESPNU at 7:30 PM. Also, audio is available on WHUS. The Huskies will continue play on Sunday, facing DePaul at 2:00 PM in Chicago.

Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies host Rensaleer (or RPI, depending on where you look. Same school, different name) for a two-game series beginning Friday night at 7:00 at Frietas Ice Forum. They'll conclude the series Saturday at 3:00 PM.

Men's Ice Hockey: The Men's Ice Hockey team will host Ryerson (another Canadian school) in an exibition contest Saturday at 8:00 PM. The regular season gets underway next Saturday with a trip to Bowling Green.

Women's Volleyball: The Huskies are looking to bounce back from a bad road trip as come home for two more Big East contests. On Saturday at 2:00 PM, Marquette rolls into Gampel Pavilion, and on Sunday at the same time, the Syracuse Orange will do the same. For those of you hoops fans who just can't wait until February 25 to see the Orange come into Gampel, this is your chance. Those who can, who said you could only pick one? Admission to this one is free to everybody. And would any true Husky fan would miss a chance to see a UConn-Syracuse game at Gampel for free? I think not.

UConn Sports Roundup, September 23, 2011

Husky news and notes from today

Women's Soccer: The Huskies continue Big East play with a pair of games this weekend. First, they face the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 7:00 PM. Video will be available on Huskies All-Access, and WHUS will be doing the audio. Next, the Huskies will host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday at 1:00 PM. That game will also be on All-Access. The Cardinals are 1-0-1 in the Big East and 3-4-2 overall, tying them for second in the National Division. Cincy is 1-1-0 and 5-3-2 overall. The Huskies are also 1-1-0 in Big East play, plus 4-4-0 overall. They are one game behind West Virginia and Marquette in the American Division. On next Friday night (the 30th) the Huskies will head to South Bend to face Notre Dame in a matchup televised by ESPNU. That will be big.

Women's Volleyball: The Huskies are in Cincinnati tonight at 7:30 PM before traveling to Louisville Sunday at 2:00 PM. This is the first two Big East games of the season. The Cincinnati game will be available on the Bearcats' website for viewing. Ditto for the Louisville game and the Cards' site.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies will face their archrival #12 ranked St. John's Red Storm on Saturday night in front of a predicted sell-out. Only 500 tickets remain so buy soon. And wear white since it's a White Out. For those unable to attend, tune into WHUS or Huskies All-Access. Also, it is Family Weekend. Any families reading this who think they might want to attend the game, buy your tickets NOW. Otherwise, you won't get them. I think if UConn wanted to encourage families to come over Family Weekend, they should let them know it's going to be a sell-out (since usually you can just get tickets there). The Family Weekend website doesn't even list ticket prices. This could be intentionally marketing towards fans as opposed to families. But if it's not, and they want families to go, they're doing a bad job. Any way, if you don't know if you want to go and are unwilling to buy seats in advance, there are two women's games this weekend, plus several other contests around campus (volleyball, ice hockey). Those are valuable options too. Consider them. They can be fun. They won't be as crowded as Morrone Stadium on Saturday night, but if you want to watch a UConn game, go for it. They're fun too. If you want to know why, read the rest of my blog. Update: As I wrote this, I was updated that the St. John's game is now SOLD OUT. Let's hope all the season ticket holders actually show up, or if they can't, give/sell their tickets to a friend. To any season ticket holder who can't go for whatever reason, please let someone else have your tickets. Give them to a friend, or sell them. But let Morrone Stadium be packed.

Women's Ice Hockey: The women's ice hockey team plays their first and only exhibition contest of the season against McGill tonight at 7 PM.  McGill is a Canadain University, and they will frequently compete against American schools in exhibition games. McGill may be the Harvard of Canada, but as Lisa Simpson says, "Anything that's the something of the something isn't really anything at all". I love that quote, by the way. But as for the game, it's just an exhibition. The real fun starts next weekend, with games on Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st against RPI. You can't help but love RPI's nickname. They're the Engineers. Even Cal Tech came up with a vaguely fierce nickname. Beavers may not be fiercely competitive creatures, but at least they're not nerds. Then again, from what some of my friends in the School of Engineering tell me, it can get quite competitive there. Perhaps the RPI Engineering Majors? Still, I think the New College of Florida has the most unusual athletic nickname out there - the Empty Set. When the college was created, they put a pair of empty brackets  in the charter to choose a nickname at a little time. But eventually, they dropped all varsity  athletic teams. Now, the Empty Set has become a symbol of New College, and is also used by several club teams. In fact, their career services blog is called "Filling the Empty Set", perhaps as a reference to to getting a job as well.

Football: The Huskies travel to Buffalo, tomorrow at 6 PM. Hopefully the Huskies can get on the right path with a win over the lowly Bulls. But hopefully they should have beaten Vandy and Iowa State and that didn't happen. So I'm not counting on it. If we had a remotely competent QB, we could be amazing. We don't. At the same time, I'm not counting this season out yet. Last year, we started 1-2 including a loss at Temple. Everyone said we were done. Then, we started 3-4 after losses to Rutgers and Louisville. Everyone said we were done. Then came a Dave Teggart kick against West Virginia in OT and everything changed. Anything could happen.

Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they travel to Rhode Island to face Providence. The Huskies are 1-0 in the Big East and 6-1 overall. The Friars are 3-6 overall and this will be their Big East opener. The Huskies will go on to host UMass on Wednesday at 7:00 PM and Louisville on Saturday the 1st of October at noon.

Note: You may have noticed this post contains more rambling and analysis about various subjects rather than just straight UConn facts. I kind of prefer this format, so I think I'll stick with it. It's always what I intended this blog to be, it just rarely worked out that way. For those who liked the abbreviated version, I will be posting a shorter (more cut-an-dry) version of these on the UConn fan message board The Boneyard. How much detail I go in there is subject to feeback (unlike the format of these posts which I will do as I like to do). You can view today's here. I won't always link, but I may sometimes. I'd recommend joining the site in general.

Delayed Weekend Roundup - UConn Update through September 20, 2011 (CORRECTED)

Sorry for the delay. Big news over the weekend with regards to the ACC. I'll put up something about that soon. For now, here's the latest.

MAJOR NEWS: There are multiple reports surfacing that UConn may join a super-ACC within the next few years. I will speculate on this soon.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies fell to 4-4-0 on the season after losing to Big East foe St. John's 1-0 in OT. The Huskies were dominated by the Red Storm, outshot 10-3 in Queens before Jen Leaverton added the game winning goal at the 91:23 minute. Next Friday, the Huskies will host Louisville at 7:00 PM before hosting Cincinnati on Sunday the 25th at 1:00 PM. 10 days remain until the nationally televised showdown at Notre Dame on ESPNU at 7:30 PM on September 30th.

Field Hockey: The Huskies suffered their first defeat of the year, losing 3-1 to the #8 ranked Boston College Eagles at home. Cara Silverman added a goal in the loss. The Huskies are in Providence on Saturday at 1:00 PM for a Big East road game. The national poll is due out today sometime, so stay tuned to see where we are.

Men's Soccer: Big game for the Huskies today as they head to Chestnut Hill at 7:00 PM to face Boston College. This is the big road trip of the year for Goal Patrol, so expect a lot of road Huskies fans. We are currently ranked #2 in the nation at 6-0-0. Webstreaming is available on bceagles.com and also a radio is available from WHUS. On a side note, don't expect me to comment on the crackdown on heckling at Morrone Stadium this year, because not being there, I don't know what's going on. But I have no problem with what's been working for the past forever. Family-friendly and squeaky clean are two different things. If I were going a game with a young child, I would make sure we didn't sit near the student section. I can understand why people would feel the same way. But on the rare occasions where someone does say something totally outlandish, we're usually pretty good about getting that individual to shut up or behave. And if we're not, then security can get involved, though in my whole time last year, I only recall that happening once. I don't know all the facts, but I do know what it was like last year. And I see no reason to change a working system. If any Goal Patrol members who are on campus wish to comment, go ahead.

In any case, after BC, the Huskies will host the St. John's Red Storm in the #6 rivalry in America Saturday at 7:30 PM. The school is expecting a sell-out for "White Out Morrone Night" and it should be a rocking.

Women's Ice Hockey: The Huskies open up with an exhibition vs. McGill on Friday at 7:00 PM. McGill is supposedly the "Harvard of Canada". But, you know what Lisa Simpson always says. Ah well, it's only an exhibition game. The real fun starts a week later. The Huskies made the Hockey East first round of the tournament, before falling to Northeastern. They will look to improve and reach the NCAA Championship.

Note: A previous version of this post indicated that the men's soccer team's next game after tonight would be against Yale, followed by Louisville. However, in fact the St. John's game is before those two matchups. The error has been remedied. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

 

Husky Sports Round-Up, September 14th

Note: This is my first since undergoing brain surgery so forgive any typos

Field Hockey: The Field Hockey team defeated Drexel 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies are still ranked #4   in the country, behind UNC, Old Dominion, and Maryland. Next up we open Big East play traveling to Villanova o Saturday the 17th and will face Boston College the nxt day.

Men's  Soccer: Thew newly ranked #2 Huskies travel to the Boston University Terriers on Friday afternoon and the Boston College Eagles on Tuesady evening, both games at 7:00 PM on WHUS. The Eagles are a Top 25.

Women's Soccer: Next up, we open Big East play by hosting Syracuse tomorrow at 7PM on WHUS.

http://nfhca.org/

Roundup #2 for September 11th

This is the final roundup for today (or any day) before I head into New York City for my surgery. Unfortunately, I don't have all the links yet, but it's going to have to do.

Men's Soccer: UConn defeated SMU 1-0, thanks to a Max Wasserman goal off a free kick. The Huskies improve to 5-0 and could be ranked #2 next week thanks to a loss by #1 UNC. Next up, we travel to Boston University on Friday at 7:00 PM, and then to Boston College on Tuesday the 20th, also at 7:00 PM. The Eagles are ranked #8 in the country, but that ranking may drop after a 4-0 loss to Maryland on Friday night. The Goal Patrol will have a large contingent at both games, and the BC game is the official yearly trip.Both Boston games will be on WHUS.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies lost 2-1 to Harvard today in Cambridge. No further summary is available at this time. I may post something later if I have more info. Next up, we open Big East play when we host the Syracuse Orange on Thursday night at 7:00 at Morrone Stadium. That game will be on WHUS and Huskies All-Access.

UConn Sports Roundup, September 11th, 2011

Husky Sports Roundup for today, September 11th, 2011

Football: UConn lost disappointingly to Vanderbilt, 24-21. The Huskies are now 1-1 on the season. We had a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown, plus two field goals and a 2-point conversion. However, we have not had an offensive touchdown against an FBS team since we played Cincinnati on November 27th, 2010 and Jordan Todman ran it in with 3:49 left. That's over 12 quarters without one. They say defense and special teams wins games, but you have to have at least a mediocre offense. We don't. Johnny McEntee threw three interceptions, and they cost us.

Women's Volleyball: UConn split their two games in New Hampshire yesterday. They lost to Indiana State in straight sets, but then beat the host Wildcats 25-21, 25-20, 25-11. Holly Strauss-O'Brien got her 100th win. The Huskies are 6-4 on the season And will be in Blacksburgh, Va next weekend for the Hokie Classic, where they will face Chatanooga, Virginia, and host Virginia Tech.

Field Hockey: The #4 Huskies defeated the Albany Great Danes 1-0 thanks to a goal by Marie Elena Bolles. The Huskies are 4-0 on the season, and will host Drexel today at 2:00 PM.

Men's Soccer: The #3 ranked men will face SMU in the second game of the Hurricane Classic at Tulsa today at 12:00 PM. The game will be on WHUS.org and WHUS FM 91.7.

Women's Soccer: Fresh off an upset win against Boston University, the Huskies will travel to Cambridge to face the Harvard Crimson today at 1:00.

Miscellaneous Personal News: I will be having surgery tomorrow. I will therefore not be blog posting for a little while.

UConn Sports Roundup, September 10, 2011

Miscellaneous Blog/Personal News: My surgery is Monday. If you want to know more, email me. In any case, this will render me unable to post on the blog for about a week, maybe a little less. If you want updates on your favorite teams, check out the Athletic Website.

Football: The big travel game for the Huskies is today at 7:30 PM at Vanderbilt. That game will air locally on SNY and ESPN3.com (though the latter will likely be showing the Comcast Sports South Broadcast). Also, the SNY broadcast is not Big East Regional Television so I have no idea if it's the same production crew. In any case, the Huskies QB situation is still not settled, though I think McCummings and McEntee will get most of the playing time. And now we may see issues at running back too after Lyle McCombs had a great week last week while presumed starter DJ Shoemate was hurt. There are a lot of questions to be answered when the Huskies take the field tonight. I'm looking forward to it.

Men's Soccer: The #3 team in the country defeated the Tulsa Golden Hurricane as part of the Hurricane Classic. The final score was 1-0. Mamadou Doudou Diouf got a goal in the 25th minute. Next up, the Huskies will take on SMU at 12:30 PM Sunday, also in Tulsa. That game is on WHUS.org and WHUS 91.7 FM.

Field Hockey: The #4 ranked Huskies host Albany today at noon and Drexel tomorrow at 2 PM. Next weekend, the Huskies open Big East play on Saturday when they host Villanova. They will then host Boston College on Sunday the 18th.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies defeated #20/23 Boston University, 3-0. It snapped BU's 5-game win streak. The Huskies are now 3-2-0, after their win before 1,404 fans. It was scoreless at halftime, but Danielle Schullman scored in the 53rd minute, and Julie Hubbard and Jessica Prendergast added goals later on to seal the deal. Next up, the Huskies will travel to Harvard on Sunday at 1 PM to face the Crimson.

Women's Volleyball: The Huskies defeated Fairfield three sets to one in the opener of the UNH Tournament. The Huskies will face Indiana State at 10 AM today and the host New Hampshire Wildcats at 7 PM to wrap up the tournament. The Huskies are 5-3 on the season and have already won one tournament at home.

Basketball: UConn agreed yesterday to play in the second edition of the Carrier Classic in 2012. UConn will play a game atop a military aircraft carrier in San Diego Bay, on November 9, 2012. Their opponent is TBD but may be Kansas, Texas, Florida, Arizona, or Illinois. This is very exciting for the Huskies to be doing something like this.

What's in Store for this Semester

Since I am taking medical leave this semester and cannot attend any UConn games on campus, here is a look on what is in store. This could change at any time though.

• A commentary on UConn sports and on college sports in general.


• Possible daily, semi-daily, or weekly updates on ALL UConn sports, not just the major ones.


• Updates on how I personally am doing, medically and otherwise.


• Also, I may have exciting participation news to announce soon. If it becomes official, you will hear it here.

Go Huskies!

Medical Issues - Taking a Break

I have been having some medical issues which I may talk about more at a later date. In any case, I will require hospitilization and surgery and will miss the fall semester at UConn due to a medical leave of absence. Needless to say, I will not be attending any UConn games until Spring 2012 semester. It appears that my first game back will be women's hoops vs. UNC on the 16th (Monday) but that's not for sure yet. If it's at XL and there's no bus, it won't happen, and there could be a men's game first. I will be watching my Huskies on line (with WHUS.org and Huskis All Access on uconnhuskies.com plus possibly Husky HoopStreams and an Atlantic Hockey subscription) but it's not the same as going to games. But my health comes first, and it is what it is. I'll be back in the spring, and I just want this health stuff to be over. Those who know me personally, I'll contact you and let you know what's going on. Those who just read this blog for fun, believe me, I'd rather be at school now.

Top 10 Games I Attended in 2010-11 #1: Football vs. West Virginia, October 29th, 2010

Sorry for the delay in posting this. I've been having some personal issues. But here it is, right now. By the way, for those of you wondering why the Big East and NCAA Tournaments aren't on here, the answer is simple - I wasn't at those games. Also, look at the bottom for an in-depth analysis of this list.

What: Football vs. West Virginia (original post)

When: October 29, 2010

Where: Rentschler Field

Result: Win 16-13, OT

What a game! This completely turned our season around. We came back from being down 10-0 just before halftime (at which point Teggart made a field goal) to win  16-13 in overtime. It wasn't as much due to our good play as because West Virginia kept fumbling, but I'll take it. It was the first time we beat them, ever. And after that, it launched a five game win streak that took us to our first BCS game.

This was probably the most exciting football game I've ever watched. It didn't seem that way for most of the first half though, when we couldn't score. Finally, Dave Teggart made that field goal just before the half to make it 10-3. It JUST made it inside the crossbar. I've read The Garden of Forking Paths and I wonder how we would have been different if that kick had gone wide. We wouldn't have the momentum heading into the second half, and in all likelihood, we wouldn't win the game. We wouldn't take momentum into the Pitt game and win, and could very well go 3-9. Maryland wouldn't hire Randy Edsall, but of course, he could get fired. And Pasqualoni might not have taken the job. Who knows? And if years down the road, we are an elite football program, this could have been the crucial moment in that. We will just have to see.

I'll probably post sporadically until the beginning of next season, which is just over a month away. Until then, Go Huskies!

Analysis:

Let's review the Top 10 first:

10. Men's Soccer vs. Boston University, August 28 (first game I attended)

9. Baseball vs. Holy Cross, March 22 (first baseball game, 16-inning contest)

8. Field Hockey Big East Semifinal vs. Louisville, November 6

7. Men's Soccer Big East First Round vs. DePaul, November 5

6. Men's Basketball vs. Stony Brook, November 12 (first regular-season game I attended)

5. Men's Ice Hockey vs. Sacred Heart @ Rentschler Field, February 13 (outdoor game as part of Whalers Hockey Fest)

4. Baseball Doubleheader vs. St. John's, April 2 (possible turning point of our season)

3. Men's Basketball vs. Villanova, January 17 (first game back from winter break, Kemba Walker hits game winning shot with 1 second left)

2. Women's Basketball vs. Baylor, November 16

1. Football vs. West Virginia, October 29 (see above)

 

Note that two of these were the first game I attended in a sport (including one which was the first game I attended in any sport) and a third was the first regular season game I attended in that sport (I had attended an exhibition game vs. American International). A fourth was the first game I attended after Winter Break, and it had been over a month since I'd attended one. Three more could be classified as "special" games - two Big East Tournament games and Whalers Hockey Fest. Two more are turning point games - West Virginia football and St. John's baseball. And the women's hoops game vs. Baylor was the first major contest I'd attended in women's basketball, after we clobbered Franklin Pierce and Holy Cross.

Well, that's all for now. Go Huskies!

Men's Ice Hockey Schedule Released! (UPDATED X2)

Edit: This schedule appears to be incorrect and I have no idea how or why it was posted. The correct schedule is available here now. I will post more later tonight or tomorrow.


Edit 2: Please find the updated home schedule and notes below. As of 10:32 AM on July 7, there is no press release. All times are 7:05 PM except as noted.

Saturday, October 1, 2011: vs. Ryerson (exh) TBA
Friday, October 21, 2011: vs. Sacred Heart
Thursday, October 27, 2011: vs. Holy Cross
Saturday, October 29: vs. Army, TBA
Friday, December 2: vs. RIT
Saturday, December 3: vs. RIT
Friday, December 9: vs. Bentley
Thursday, December 29: Toyota UConn Hockey Classic vs. Army, 7:15 PM
Friday, December 30: Toyota UConn Hockey Classic vs. UMass Lowell or RPI, third place game will be at 4:00 PM, championship game at 7:15 PM
Friday, January 6: vs. Niagara
Saturday, January 7: vs. Niagara
Friday, January 20: vs. Robert Morris
Saturday, January 21: vs. Robert Morris
Friday, January 27: vs. Holy Cross
Friday, February 10: vs. Sacred Heart
Friday, February 17: vs. Bentley
Saturday, February 25: vs. American International

 

Notes:

• The October 21 game is the same date, time, and place as the women's game vs. Maine. I am verifying to see if this is an error or if one game will be played at a location other than Frietas Ice Forum. Any information would be helpful.


• Apparently there are no home games during the month of November. We have home games on October 29 and December 2 but none in between.


• The Ryerson exhibition is the same day as the football game vs. Western Michigan, however since times are not available for either yet, we can't say if there will be a conflict.


• The final game of the season against AIC is the same day as the Hockey East women's quarterfinals. Should we be hosting the latter, I don't know how the matter will be resolved.

 

Top 10 Games I Attended 2010-11 #4: Baseball Doubleheader vs. St. John's

Sorry for not posting this yesterday. Anyway, this is game #4 on my Top 10 games I attended of 2010-11. Game #3 will be posted next Monday. Game #2 should be posted the Monday after that, but it's Independence Day and I'm going to my cousin's wedding in New Jersey, so it might not be up until Tuesday. Or, I might post it on Sunday, July 3rd. So stay tuned.

What: Baseball Doubleheader vs. St. John's (original post)

When: Game 1 - Saturday, April 2, 2011, 12:00 PM. Game 2 - Same day, roughly 2:50 PM

Where: J.O. Christian Field

Result: Game 1 - win 9-1 Game 2- Win 6-5

I had left early or missed entirely all the games of the series vs. Pittsburgh. Mainly this was due to the miserable weather for those games. These had slightly better weather but not by much. The Friday game was rained out and made up as a doubleheader that Saturday. And it was really the first time the K-9 Unit got that large a crowd. Despite the periodical snow squalls, we all had a good time watching 18 innings worth of baseball.

The first game was relatively uneventful, aside from an apparent threat by Red Storm pitcher Kyle Hanson to several members of the K-9 Unit. I wasn't one of them, but I'm told he said something to the effect of "I'm going to [expletive] beat the [expletive] out of you", presumably due to all the heckling we gave him. And he's Tommy Hanson's brother. Yes, that Tommy Hanson, the one who struggled with the Boston Red Sox and is now out of baseball. Kyle is supposedly better but it didn't show in Game 1 as we won 9-1.

Now, for those of you who don't know, St. John's is probably the closest thing we have to a rival in baseball. We are close geographically, and  are by far the Top two teams in the Northeastern United States. Within the Big East, Providence doesn't play baseball, Seton Hall is not typically that good but made a good run in the conference tournament, and Villanova, Rutgers, and Georgetown are perennial Big East cellar dwellers. So these were big games.

As for game two, it was a lot better. It was close throughout, and with the score tied 5-5 with two out in the bottom of the ninth and Tim Martin on first, LJ Mazilli hit what appeared to be a routine, inning-ending flyball to centerfield. But Kyle Richardson DROPPED it and Martin came all the way around from first to score the winning run. And that could, looking back on it, have been the turning point of our season. We'd beaten Pittsburgh two out of three in the first Big East series, but Pitt is a middle-of-the-pack Big East team. We had made the NCAA Tournament the year before and probably should have swept them at home. But we were struggling. We beat St. John's in game 1, which was good, but it's interesting to think about how our season might have turned out if Richardson had caught that fly ball and the Red Storm had won in extra innings. Would we have merely finished the season with one more loss? Or would we have never gone on that winning streak, and finished the season in the middle of the conference (or worse)? Who knows. Nobody could have known at the time what would happen later though.

Anyway, that's that for this game. Game 3 will be posted next Monday. Perhaps one or both ice hockey teams will release their schedule(s) for next year before then, in which case I will have a post. Until then, Go Huskies!

Men's Soccer Schedule Released

The UConn Huskies 2011 Men's Soccer Schedule was released today. With this, all fall sports which I follow have released their schedule. Men's and women's ice hockey generally release their schedules around this time too since the season starts in early October but they have not yet. In any case, you can view the full release here or the full schedule here. Below, please find the home schedule and some notes.

Sunday, August 14: exh. vs NJIT, 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 20: exhibition vs. Stony Brook, 7:30 PM
Saturday, August 27: vs. St. Francis (NY), 7:30 PM
Thursday, September 1: vs. Michigan State, 7:30 PM
Sunday, September 4: vs. California, 7:30 PM
Saturday, September 24: vs. St. John's, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, September 27: vs. Yale, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, October 4: vs. Manhattan, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, October 12: vs. Providence, 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 15: vs. Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 22: vs. Georgetown, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, October 26: vs. Marquette, 7:30 PM

Notes:

• I do not know yet if Goal Patrol will be planning a trip to another away game. It will be trickier this year because there is not an away game which is that close to Storrs and on a weekend. Last year's trip to St. John's was, according to google maps, two hours and 40 minutes. To get to Boston for the game against Boston University would be about an hour shorter, but that game is on a Friday night (September 16) not a Saturday, and is also the night of a nationally televised football game. Weekend road games against Louisville and Notre Dame the first two Saturdays in October are almost certainly not feasible. And our only other road game on a Saturday is at Seton Hall on October 29. Google Maps says it is roughly three hours from Storrs to South Orange (two hours and 59 minutes to be exact) which isn't much longer than the St. John's game. So that may be the most likely candidate. We'll see.


• With Women's Ice Hockey vs. Minnesota-Duluth also scheduled for October 15th (see this post) as well as a football game vs. USF with time TBD, this could be a three-game day thus being the first time I ever attended three UConn games in one day.


• The game against Michigan State is the same day as the football opener vs. Fordham. I unfortunately have a 9:00 AM class on Fridays so I don't particularly want to just get back to campus at midnight. And if the football game starts at 8 PM it won't end until after 11:00. If it starts at 7 PM I might attend that instead of soccer, although since football will likely be a blowout, I may not. Ideally I'd like to attend football, but I also want to get up for class the next day. I'll decide that later.

Stay posted for more information. Also, game #4 in my Top 10 games of 2010-11 will be posted on Monday.

Top 10 Games of 2011 Countdown Game #5: Men's Ice Hockey vs. Sacred Heart @ Rentschler Field

What: Men's Ice Hockey vs. Sacred Heart (Whalers Hockey Fest) (original post)

Where: Rentschler Field

When: Sunday, February 13, 1:00 PM

Result: Win 3-1

What a day. This was an absolutely amazing game. Even though there were apparently only about 1,000 fans here, it was still amazing. I had a seat at center ice/midfield which would probably have cost several thousand dollars for a football game. And there's something marvelous about outdoor hockey to begin with.

Granted, this wasn't quite the success of the "Big Chill at the Big House" but for a hockey program like the Huskies and Pioneers, it was nice. And I kind of like the idea of using Rentschler for UConn sports other than football. There were a couple men's lacrosse games there earlier this year, but since we don't have a men's lacrosse team, we weren't involved. And it's hosted FIFA events before so why not have the soccer team play a game there and try to sell the place out? Morrone is frequently sold out, so perhaps try the Rentsch.

Looking ahead to next year, we will be playing all our games indoors at the Mark Edward Frietas Ice Forum (or perhaps at XL - the impromptu experiment last year due to snow on FIF's roof failed miserably, but I could see it working if they planned it better). But it was still nice to watch the hockey game outdoors. And it also happened to be the ONLY time I was outdoors for a sporting event in between the Big East field hockey final  on November 7 and the baseball home opener on March 22. So it was nice to get ouside.

Game 4 will be posted on Monday as we get back to our regular schedule. Until then, Go Huskies!

Top 10 Games Countdown #6: Men's Basketball vs. Stony Brook, November 12, 2010

Note: I neglected to post this entry this past week on Monday as I should have. Therefore, it will be posted now, game #5, which should have been posted today, will be posted on FRIDAY, and I will resume the normal schedule next Monday with game #4.

What: Men's Basketball vs Stony Brook

When: Friday, November 12, 2010 (original post)

Where: Gampel Pavillion

Result: Win 79-52

This was my first UConn basketball game that actually counted. I had been to a men's and women's  exhibition game, and I had been at Gampel several times for women's volleyball, but this was something else entirely. The game was nearly sold out, it was opening night, and the student section was crazy.

This was not a remarkable game in itself. UConn won in a blowout, as would be expected against a lesser opponent like the Seawolves. However, as has been a theme throughout this countdown, the fact that it was the FIRST basketball game I attended (or at least the first that meant anything) was enough to get it this high on the list. I would attend many more basketball games throughout the season, both at Gampel and XL Center, but this was one of the most memorable contests I have seen merely because it was the first. As a spoiler (roll over to highlight it and see it if you want to, otherwise don't do it) there is only one other men's game on this list as well as one women's game, and they were both much more exciting in terms of on-the court action than this one was.

In any case, we all remember what came first. I remember far more about this game than I do about the second men's game I attended, November 30 against New Hampshire (which apparently I didn't make a blog post about here, although I know I was at that game and the Game Log agrees with me). So, this game will always be memorable for me, even if it was a blowout.

Top 10 Games of 2010-11 Countdown Number 8: Women's Field Hockey Big East Semifinal vs. Louisville

Number 8 on my Top 10 Games I attended at UConn in the 2010-11 season

What: Women's Field Hockey Big East Semifinal vs. Louisville (click here for original posting)

When: Saturday, November 6th, 2010, 1:30 PM

Where: George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex

Result: UConn win 2-1

This was the second Big East postseason event I attended. The first was the men's soccer game vs. DePaul the night before. I arrived at Sherman early in the morning, received my free admission ticket as a student of a Big East school, hung around for the first half of Syracuse-Rutgers, then went to get lunch at the Student Union during halftime. I returned during the second half and watched the Orange seal up a blowout victory, before staying in my seat to watch this game.

While it was awkward seeing the Huskies in their road blues at home, this was still a fun experience. We got the win over a very good Louisville team who had beaten us during the regular season. And it started looking good for us when the Cardinals' star player was ejected in the middle of the first half. We would go on to win this game 2-1. This was a fun-filled weekend of Big East matchups for me, between the men's soccer Friday night, and field hockey Saturday and Sunday, it was an awesome weekend. Unfortunately, we aren't hosting any Big East Tournament games in any sport next year, with the possible exception that Women's basketball may be in Hartford (it hasn't been announced). And of course, WBB won't be during Spring Break this year, so they may give us a bus down there. Who knows? The women's soccer semifinals and championship will be at Morrone Stadium in 2012, which should be fun. But since those don't actually start in the semifinals, the Huskies may have to win one or two games to get there. And it won't be fun if UConn isn't playing on our own campus. But I've got a year and a half until we get there. For now, stay tuned next week for game number 7. I may be posting it on Tuesday due to Memorial Day on Monday. There's also a possibility I'll post it Sunday evening, (hopefully) along with some commentary on our baseball team (hopefully) winning the Big East championship. Stay tuned, and go Huskies!

Top 10 2010-11 List Game 9: Baseball vs. Holy Cross, March 22

Game number 9 in the top 10 games I attended.

What: Baseball vs. Holy Cross (link)

When: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 3:00 PM

Where: J.O. Christian Field

Result: Tie 2-2, 16 innings

This was the first UConn baseball game I ever attended. It was also the first outdoor event I had attended since Hockey Fest and the first one on-campus since the Field Hockey Big East Final on November 7. The weather was cold and dreary, but I stuck it out for the whole four hour, 16 inning game. (On a side note, I am impressed that this game was shorter than some nine-inning Yankees-Red Sox games, but that's besides the point).

Of course, I was as disappointed as anyone when it was called due to darkness, but I toughed it out. I could have stopped being a fan of UConn baseball right then and there, but I didn't. And now we are Big East Champions.

I will always remember this as being the first UConn baseball game I ever saw, just as I will remember the Tigers-Yankees game on April 11, 1999 as being the first Yankees game I ever attended. And since I missed the top of the first inning of this one as I was late arriving due to class, LJ Mazilli was the first Huskies batter and the first batter in general that I saw. And of course, just as Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that game, possibly cementing my place as a lifelong Yankees fan, I will always remember the thrill of the 16-inning dogfight in this game, even if it didn't end as I had hoped.

On an interesting note, just as I mentioned in my post for Game #10 that Boston University was my first opponent I saw in three different sports, the Holy Cross Crusaders women's basketball team were the visitors the first time I saw a UConn regular season game in that sport.

Game #8 is coming up next Monday. There may be more commentary before then, plus discussion of any schedules should they be released. Until then, Go Huskies!

Looking Ahead: Next Year's Schedules

No UConn team other than football has announced their schedule for 2011 yet. Most teams normally release their schedules around my birthday (June 17). Field Hockey and Men's Ice Hockey actually released theirs on my birthday. Hopefully I will get similar birthday presents this year.

In any case, I have managed to piece together a few known games using other teams' schedules which have been released. If you discover any others, shoot me an email. Note that when I started to compile this list I included all games but then decided to only include home games. So, some but not all known away games are included.

Field Hockey:

Saturday, September 10: vs. Albany, Noon
Saturday, September 24: @ Providence, 1:00 PM
Saturday, October 1: vs. Louisville, Noon
Sunday, October 23: vs. Syracuse, Noon

Women's Soccer:

Friday, August 19: vs. Northeastern, 7:00 PM
Thursday, September 15: vs. Syracuse, TBD
Sunday, September 18: @ St. John's, 1:00 PM
Friday, September 23: vs. Louisville, 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 25: vs. Cincinnati, 1:00 PM
Friday, October 14: vs. Pitt, TBD?*
Sunday, October 16: vs. West Virginia, 1:00 PM
Saturday, October 22: @ Providence, 1:00 PM

*- Judging by the travel partner rule, we should be playing Pitt on the 14th at home. I don't have a time though, because they have not announced their schedule.

Men's Soccer:

Saturday, October 1: @ Louisville, 7:00 PM
Wednesday, October 19: @ West Virginia, 7:00 PM

(Note: almost all of our home games last year were at 7:30, but in previous years they have been at 7:00. All of our games this year that I could find are listed at 7:00. I do not know if this is an error or if we will be returning to playing games at that time).


Volleyball:

Saturday, October 1: vs. Marquette, 2:00 PM
Sunday, October 2: vs. Syracuse, 2:00 PM
Edit 5/15/2011, 3:19 PM: I found the following additional games:

Men's soccer vs. California: September 4th, 7:00 PM