The Daily Campus

Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Erin O'Dell Dori Arad dribbles during Friday's regular-season finale, a 2-1 win over Seton Hall.

Things were not going UConn's way Friday night against Seton Hall. Shots were missing by inches, referees were not making obvious calls, and at one point two consecutive shots bounced off the crossbar.

Something had to give, and with eight minutes left, Dori Arad broke a 1-1 tie with his third goal of the year to close out the regular season with a 2-1 win over the Pirates (6-8-4, 2-5-4 Big East) at Morrone Stadium.

No. 15 UConn (9-3-6, 6-3-2) scored first, on junior Shawn Nicklaw's first career goal in the 15th minute. Mike Pezza took a corner that was headed outside the 18-yard box by a Seton Hall defender to Nicklaw, who unloaded into the top left corner past Pirate goalie Paul McHenry.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Seton Hall tied the score at 1-1 less than two minutes later. Jerry Saintil dribbled downfield, virtually unchallenged, and put one past Josh Ford.

According to UConn coach Ray Reid, fatigue may have been a factor why his team gave up such a quick equalizer.

"We've played three games in five days," Reid said. "The guys are tired and they got back on their heels."

The first half did not see any reprieve for McHenry, who faced 11 UConn shots and had to make a spectacular save on a shot by Arad to keep the score tied.

"I thought we played great in the first half," Arad said. "The keeper made a huge save."

The score remained tied until freshman Tony Cascio found Arad in the 82nd minute. Arad hit the crossbar for the third time in the game. But this time, the ball landed in the net.

Arad, who had dinner with Cascio just the night before, credited his teammate with a great pass.

"He actually told me at dinner that he was going to give me a goal," Arad said. "He just gave me another great pass, the first time I took it left but this time I took it right and it went in."

Not only did the win close out the Huskies' regular season on a good note, but it also has significant postseason implications. The win earned UConn the No. 2 seed in the Big East conference's Blue Division, ensuring a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

In the 12-team format, the top two teams in both the Red and Blue divisions will host the four quarterfinal match-ups Saturday. The other eight teams will play Wednesday for the other four quarterfinal spots.

Instead of heading back to the field for a first-round game on four days' rest, UConn will be able to get some more rest and practice.

"It's huge to get a bye so that we can practice," Arad said. "We haven't had practice in a long time, just games. Getting the week off to practice hard will be good for us because we have a lot of injured guys who can use the rest."

Among the injured are O'Brian White, Akeem Priestley and Kwame Watson-Siriboe, none of whom have played in UConn's last four games.

Although Reid agreed it was a great win, the postseason will be just another set of games in his 'win the next game' mentality.

"The regular season is over and I'm very pleased with the result," Reid said. "Now it's just time for the postseason."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools