Last week saw the end of several UConn teams' seasons. No. 5 field hockey lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to No. 8 Duke, and women's soccer fell just short of the tournament for the first time in 27 years. Here's a look at some of the disappointing endings to otherwise great seasons in UConn sports in recent times.
3. Field hockey, 2008-2009 season
Maybe it was just bad luck. After all, one loss and a team is eliminated from the tournament. If that's the case, then the field hockey team had a double dose of bad luck - even with starters Lauren Aird, Lindsey Leck and Jennifer Kleinhans returning. After advancing to the Big East tournament finals for the seventh straight season (with a 17-2 record, 5-0 Big East), the Huskies lost on a penalty corner shot with no time left in regulation, losing to Syracuse, 1-0. Then, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Huskies were knocked out by the Blue Devils, just a year after making it to the Final Four.
2. Men's soccer, 2007-2008 season
Last year, the Huskies were at one point the No. 1 team in the country. They had the No. 1 player in the country, O'Brian White. They had Julius James and Ryan Cordeiro, both future MLS draft picks. Going into the tournament, the Huskies were 18-2-1 all-time. But when the NCAA tournament came around, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity. Though they made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, UConn (20-2-1 before the game) was upset by No. 11 seed Virginia Tech (13-3-5 before the game).
1. Men's basketball, 2005-2006 season
Ah, yes, the infamous Cinderella story: No. 11 seed George Mason knocks out No. 1 seed Connecticut. Some of us were only freshmen, hoping to see another national championship return to UConn just two years later. Most of us were still in high school. All the pieces were there, with a solid starting roster of guards Denham Brown and Marcus Williams, forwards Rudy Gay and Josh Boone and center Hilton Armstrong. Four of them would end up in the NBA draft two months later. But the NCAA tournament did not seem to be where their heads were. The team was 30-3, playing in a major conference. George Mason was 26-7 and played in the Colonial Athletic Association. Yet, a missed 3-pointer in the dwindling seconds of overtime kept the Huskies from advancing to the Final Four, ruining everyone's tournament brackets. The bitter taste in fans' mouths after this major upset makes this one of the biggest - if not the biggest - disappointing seasons at UConn.
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