The men's soccer team takes on the Pittsburgh Panthers this Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Morrone Stadium. The No. 17 Huskies (7-2-3 5-1-1 Big East) just came off a big win over then No.6 Harvard 4-0 and will look to do more of the same against a Pittsburgh team that has only one win on the season.
Nonetheless, UConn head coach Ray Reid doesn't want the Huskies to overlook the Panthers (1-10-1, 0-6-1 Big East).
"It is still a tough game," said Reid, "It's a Big East game, there's still three points on the line in possibly a wet field, Conference games tend to bring a lot of intensity."
UConn has not lost in its past six games and has held every one of those six opponents scoreless. The UConn offense has come alive recently, scoring eight goals in the past three games. With the addition of midfielder Mike Pezza, the offense looks to become even more dynamic. Pezza had missed the previous five games before he joined the Husky attack midway through the first half of the Harvard game. Pezza led the nation in assists two seasons ago and notched his third of this season against Harvard.
"I think when Michael is back on the field we just have to get him the ball cause he can make a lot happen for us," said Reid.
With Pezza in the middle, along with Tony Cascio, Toni Stahl and freshman Stephane DIOP, the Huskies are even more dangerous. All four can handle the ball and control the middle of the field, one of UConn's main objectives. Ball possession is a key component in the UConn offense and was apparent in the Harvard game, where the Huskies waited patiently with the ball until passing lanes opened up.
"We are getting better with that and working hard every day and that's all we can do, we are going in the right direction," Reid said.
Once they opened, forward Alan Ponce was able to capitalize on the opportunities, scoring twice to bring his season total to five, tying him with Tony Cascio for the team lead. Ponce has improved as the season has progressed, with his back-down move on defenders. Ponce posts his defenders down, receives passes and then either passes back out or makes a quick move towards the goal. This requires at least one defender to mark him throughout the game, though most times two are required.
The back four and goalie Josh Ford have played extremely well of late, posting nine shutouts during the season. Teams have rarely broken the back wall made by Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Robert Brickley. The Panthers, as most teams have, will try to pressure the defense. Reid commented on how most teams' strategies revolve around pressuring the UConn players and trying to cause turnovers. So far, this hasn't worked for many teams besides Boston University. Most teams that employ this strategy can't get the ball and are quickly worn down by a fast UConn team.
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