BU Men Upset UConn

Terriers Upend Nationally Ranked Huskies, 3-0

Sept. 6, 2009

STORRS, Conn. -- For the second consecutive year, senior goalie Hrafn Davidsson shut out Connecticut, but this time he received offensive support, as the Terriers stunned the 12th-ranked Huskies, 3-0, 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.

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. Last year, BU battled UConn to a 0-0 draw. 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 deflected 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.

In the second half, the game was filled with tension, as the fans cheered on the Huskies to tie the contest.. At 53:50, Uconn’s Carlos Alvarez fired a cross 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 top.

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, Stephen Knox made the pass and O'Neal kicked the ball to the left side of the goal.