UConn Routs South Florida

White Sets Scoring Mark With Hat Trick

December 2, 2007

STORRS, Conn. – Just 1:15 into the match, it was O’Brian White from Mike Pezza and an early UConn lead over South Florida. That would be the recurring theme Sunday as White went on to score three times – two on helpers from Pezza – and the Huskies rolled over their BIG EAST foe, 5-0, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

UConn (20-2-1) advances to the Quarterfinals to face 11th-seeded Virginia Tech Saturday, Dec. 8, at 1:00 p.m. in Storrs.

White’s three-goal outburst gave him the most goals in UConn single-season history. His 23 tallies broke the previous record of 22 set by Joe Morrone, Jr. in 1979.

UConn's Chukwudi Chijindu scored one of the Huskies' five goals on Sunday. (Photo source: UConn Athletics)

Two of White's scores were helped along by Mike Pezza, the NCAA leader in assists. With 19 on the season, Pezza moves to within one of the program record 20 set by Pedro DeBrito in 1979 and again in 1981.

Akeem Priestley and Chukwudi Chijindu rounded out the scoring for the Huskies in their second goal-scoring output of five goals this season. They have now out-scored opponents 16-1 in the postseason, going back to the Quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament against USF.

For the second consecutive game, UConn scored its first goal of the day in the opening minutes. White and Pezza teamed up early in the second minute when Pezza fed the ball up to White near the top of the penalty area. The junior forward then took a hard shot from the left side past USF keeper Diego Restrepo for the early lead.

The dynamic duo struck again just under 20 minutes later. Pezza launched a centering pass into the goal box from just inside the right sideline for White's header from six yards out.

That wrapped up scoring for the first half, but the Huskies were far from done for the day. Priestley stretched the lead to 3-0 just over a minute into the second stanza with a shot into the right corner off a loose ball in front of the net. White then added his third of the day 13 minutes later, early in the 60th minute, off an assist from Toni Stahl.

Not to be outdone, Chijindu proved that he is still a go-to guy in the postseason. After scoring two goals and adding three assists in NCAA Tournament games before this year, Chijindu came off the bench in the 71st minute and scored less than five minutes later. He collected a pass from Priestley, beat a defender on the right side and sent a hard shot into the opposite side to give UConn the 5-0 win.

USF (14-6-2) had seven shots on the day, but placed only three on goal for Husky keeper Josh Ford to save. Ford joins White and Pezza atop the school record books, tying Bryheem Hancock's 20-win record set in 2000 and moving into a three-way tie for second with 14 shutouts.

This was the third meeting of the 2007 season between UConn and the Bulls. The Huskies won all three by a combined score of 9-1 and are now 7-0 all-time against USF, dating back to 1988.

UConn's quarterfinal match against Virginia Tech will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 1:00 p.m. in Morrone Stadium. The Hokies best Old Dominion, 1-0, in the third round after defeating California, 3-2, in the second.

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