HUSKIES HOUND BC

The UConn men’s soccer team remained undefeated Wednesday night after defeating Boston College 2-0 in front of a large crowd at Morrone Stadium.

Mamadou Diouf was the man of the match as he netted two goals for UConn; the first coming in the 11th minute off of an assist by Carlos Alvarez.

“I just saw Diouf running, and I played him, and he did a wonderful job. He created his own goal and he finished,” said Alvarez.

Diouf faked left and curled the first goal from the top of the box inside the right post for his 5th of the season. His second goal came off of a penalty shot in the 74th minute. Diouf pushed an offensive run and was turned away by a Boston College defenseman, which led to corner kick for UConn. A hand ball by Boston College soon followed and Diouf tucked home another goal in the top right corner with his left foot on the penalty kick to make it 2-0.

UConn finished the first half with four shots on net and plenty of missed opportunities. Diouf had another goal chance at the 13th minute but was stoned away by Boston College goalie, Justin Luthy. A free kick by UConn defenseman Max Wasserman at the 29th minute proved to be another missed opportunity as his shot missed wide left.

UConn goalie, Andre Blake, had a slow day in the net with only three saves throughout the entire game. Blake stayed focused despite not having much action during the 90 minutes.

“It’s something that I’m used to,” said Blake. “It’s a part of me, to try to keep talking and that’s my way of staying in the game.”
When the shots presented themselves, Blake made the most of his opportunities to keep a clean sheet. Late in the game, Boston College midfielder Kyle Bekker unloaded a powerful right footed shot from thirty-five yards right under the top of the crossbar, but Blake was able to punch it away in a diving effort.

Bekker had a busy game, as he received a yellow card after knocking down UConn midfield magician Adria Beso in the 51st minute, which changed the pace of the game for UConn until the end.

Not only did UConn have a few missed opportunities, but Boston College did as well. Three missed headers, to go along with two consecutive no goals on corner kicks, Boston College found it hard to put the ball within reach of the net.

UConn kept up the pressure late in the game, as Alvarez passed to Allando Matheson, who muscled his way towards the net past Boston College defender Ryan Dunn to produce a one on one chance in the 78th minute, to no avail.

UConn also kept the ball well within the closing minutes of the game, nullifying any chance of a Boston College attack.

The Huskies, undefeated in their past thirty home games, will open up Big East play this Saturday versus heated rival St. John's at 7 p.m. Coverage can be heard on 91.7 FM WHUS and online at whus.org. Tickets at Morrone Stadium have been sold out.