UConn Wins 7th BIG EAST Title

Huskies Win Third Championship in Four Years

November 18, 2007

STORRS, Conn. – Israel native Dori Arad scored two goals to lead the No. 2 UConn men's soccer team to the 2007 BIG EAST Championship title with a 2-0 win over Notre Dame Sunday.

This is the conference-leading seventh BIG EAST Tournament title for the Huskies and the third in the last four years. With the win, UConn (18-2-1), the top seed out of the BIG EAST Blue Division, earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.

Arad's two goals for Connecticut were both scored in a 10-minute time span in the first half. He was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player for his combined three goals in the championship weekend, while senior UConn goalkeeper Josh Ford earned Defensive MVP honors. Ford finished the day with seven saves.

Arad knocked in a header off an Akeem Priestley corner kick in the 8th minute for a 1-0 lead. Priestely, a junior, sent in the kick from the right side, and Arad knocked the ball to the left of Notre Dame keeper Chris Cahill.

The second tally was scored just over 10-minutes later at the 17:29 mark. Arad again sent the ball into the left side of the net on a header, this time off a corner kick by Mike Pezza from the left side. The ball went in over the out-reached hands of Cahill.

The Fighting Irish (12-4-5) continued to produce offensive pressure late into the first half. Notre Dame’s first good look of the period came with 15:14 remaining as senior Ryan Miller sent a header just wide of the net.

The Huskies used two saves from Ford to preserve the 2-0 advantage heading into the intermission. The first Irish attempt came from freshman Jeb Brovsky, who collected a pop up and sent a shot on goal that Ford dove to his left to save. In the 39th minute, sophomore Justin Morrow sent a shot on frame that Ford corralled in.

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