Courtesy: Boston University Athletic Communications
STORRS, Conn. - For the second consecutive year, Boston University senior goalie Hrafn Davidsson
shut out Connecticut, but this time he received offensive support, as
the Terriers stunned the 12th-ranked Huskies, 3-0, on Saturday night at
Morrone Stadium in front of a boisterous 3,495 fans. Sophomore Ben Berube scored the first goal at 29:11 in the first half, and junior Aaron O'Neal added two more at 85:03 and 89:43, respectively.
Also on Saturday, Hartford and Binghamton both moved to 2-0 as the Hawks downed UMass 2-0 and the Bearcats upended Colgate, 1-0.t
With their first win against UConn since 2002 and first on the road
since 1999, the Terriers improve to 1-0-1, while the Huskies fall to
1-1-0. Last year, BU battled UConn to a 0-0 draw and would eventually
advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, while the Huskies
reached the Round of 16.
The 3-0 loss is the worst defeat for the Huskies since 2006, when West Virginia defeated them by the same score.
In the first half, the game was even with both teams having their
opportunities. The Huskies' best chance for a score came at 27:23, when
Tony Cascio headed the ball off a free kick that was saved and
deflected out of bounds by a diving Davidsson. UConn kept the pressure
on the ensuing corner kick, as Davidsson made another strong save at
the far post off a header from Kwame Watson-Siriboe.
Less than two minutes later, Bustamante made a pass to Berube, who
rifled a shot from about 25 yards out that almost immediately
defelected off a defender and landed on the bottom corner at the far
post. The score was Berube's third career goal and his first career
game winner as a Terrier.
Both teams each had one more attempt but never really threatened, as
the Terriers entered the locker room ahead, 1-0. The Huskies led the
Terriers at the half in shot attempts, 6-3, and also had a slight edge
in corner kicks, 2-1.
In the second half, the game was filled with tension, as the fans
cheered on the Huskies to tie the contest, but Davidsson and the BU
backline held strong. At 53:50, UConn's Carlos Alvarez made a crossing
pass from 30 yards out to Alan Ponce, who headed it softly at the near
post to a perfectly positioned Davidsson.
At 58:40, the Huskies came close to tying the game when Mike Pezza
placed a corner kick into the middle of the box. The 6-foot-3
Watson-Siriboe jumped up and headed it straight toward the goal, but
had a little too much lift on it, as the ball went over the goal.
The Terriers finally created distance from the Huskies with five
minutes left in the contest. O'Neal recorded his first goal of the
season when Samuel Appiah passed to the middle of the box for him to kick into the right corner of the goal.
Almost the exact same play happened with 17 seconds remaining, but
this time, Knox made the pass and O'Neal kicked the ball to the left
side of the goal.