UConn bounces Virginia from NCAA play

On a night where Virginia couldn’t finish anything, a sharp Connecticut team took advantage of its own scant opportunities and came up with a pair of goals to end the Cavaliers’ season.

The No. 22 Huskies got an early goal from Dori Arad and a second-half tally from Tony Cascio in a 2-0 win in the second half of the NCAA Tournament’s second round. The No. 19 Cavaliers’ campaign came to a close with a bitter loss where they controlled the tempo for nearly the entire contest.

“Obviously they had the better of the play tonight,” said UConn coach Ray Reid. “Anytime you can come into UVa and beat a program of this level it’s a great accomplishment for our program.”

After the first-half goal, Connecticut was able to lean on its seasoned midfield and defense during the second half. Virginia — with a lone senior, Matt Poole, in a freshman- and sophomore-dominated lineup — was unable to combat the Huskies’ savvy play.

“They made it tough for us to score and locked it down,” said Virginia coach George Gelnovatch. “Getting that goal made it easier for them to do what I think that they’re really good at which is locking it down, defending, clearing balls out of the box.”

The Huskies essentially put the game away with Cascio’s goal, which came at the tail end of a series of alternating fastbreaks by either team. Oscar Castillo found Cascio with a pass on a deep UConn run as the Cavaliers pressed to try to find an equalizer.

The Huskies thwarted a Virginia free kick at the top right corner of the box with 15:37 to play, then raced the ball downfield on a fastbreak before Virginia’s Jonathan Villanueva re-directed the run. UConn answered with a stop of its own that quickly led to the Cascio goal. The goal came when Virginia was starting to take more chances, and the experienced Huskies sensed when to strike.

“When we saw the pairings, we certainly weren’t happy to be their second-round opponent, and I know George certainly couldn’t be happy to get us,” Reid said. “This is like a Sweet 16 or an Elite 8 game.”

The Huskies’ opening goal came when Mike Pezza connected with Arad on a free kick from outside the box 29 minutes and 44 seconds into the contest, and Arad headed the ball to give UConn a 1-0 lead. The free kick came on a questionable foul call against Virginia where there was contact between a Connecticut player and a Cavalier before it appeared the Virginia player got yanked backwards while trying to break away.

“I don’t think the first goal was deserved,” Gelnovatch said, declining further comment.

The Cavaliers had a few near misses during the first half, including a nice free kick by Hunter Jumper shortly after the Huskies’ goal. UConn goalie Josh Ford leapt to tip that ball high.

The last solid chance for the Cavaliers in the opening half came with just under seven minutes to play, when a well-played ball in front of the goal found Villenueva, who chipped it high from point-blank range.

“They scored completely against the run of play,” Gelnovatch said. “I thought our energy was good, going into halftime 0-0 would have been fine, I would have felt good about it.”

Virginia missed on a number of free kick chances during the second half, while UConn’s defense prevented the Cavaliers from getting very many open looks.

“When you’re on the road you’ve got to be smart — we’ve had this done to us at our place too many times for my liking,” Reid said. “Our guys have been just unbelievable with adversity.”

The Huskies have battled the injury bug much like Virginia did with the ACL injuries to Tony Tchani and Chris Agorsor. Connecticut’s O’Brian White, the 2007 Hermann trophy winner didn’t play against the Cavaliers (but could be back soon) and Karl Schilling, a senior defender is out for the year.

The Cavaliers should be formidable next season with the return of a large, talented freshman class, including Tchani, Agorsor and Brian Ownby. Juniors Michael Giallombardo, Ross LaBauex and Villanueva — who Reid said was the best player the Huskies had faced all year — are also slated to return, among a host of other talented players.