Boston College Athletics
Men's Soccer Ties Up Top-Ranked UConn, 1-1
October 11, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Boston College's Casey Schmidt opened the scoring when he collected a perfect pass just past midfield and dribble in untouched, one-on-one, with UConn keeper Bryheem Hancock to net his sixth goal of the season in the game's 12th minute. Sophomore classmate Bobby Thompson served up the lob from the top of Boston College's goal box and laid it perfectly in front of a charging Schmidt, clearing the entire pinched-in Husky defense. The Eagles are undefeated when Schmidt tallies a goal in 2000, going 5-0-1 when he scores.
Connecticut settled down and evened the score when Mansour Ndiaye picked up a rebound off a shot that hit the post and buried the ball behind Eagle keeper Chris Hamblin in the 17th minute. Roberto Vargas initiated the play as he served a corner ball to Max Zieky, whose attempt slammed of the crossbar of the goal.
Both teams battled for the remaining 73 minutes of regulation. With 27:00 left, Connecticut put a massive flurry on net and looked to have a clear goal scored before Hamblin made the remarkable save from his knees. The Huskies put five successive shots on net that resulted in three defensive saves, the stop by Hamblin and a shot just high to give the Eagles possession.
As the teams went into the first overtime, Boston College clogged the box and did not allow Connecticut an easy shot. The defense collapsed and shut down the Husky offense. On the other end of the field, Boston College was unable to make many rushes past the top of the box due the starters' and reserves' exhaustion from 120:00 of physical play. The score remained deadlocked through the additional 30 minutes of play.
Hamblin, by all accounts the player of the game, made 10 saves in the tie, while Hancock made three.
Boston College, now 5-5-1 overall and 4-2-1 in BIG EAST play, next faces seventh-ranked Pittsburgh at home on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. Connecticut is now 9-1-2 overall and 4-0-2 in league play.
Connecticut (9-1-2, 4-0-2 BE) 1 0 0 0 - 1 Boston College (5-5-1, 4-2-1 BE) 1 0 0 0 - 1Scoring - BC: Casey Schmidt (Bobby Thompson) 11:42. UC: Mansour Ndiaye (Max Zieky, Roberto Vargas) 16:40.
Shots - UC: 35. BC: 10.
Goalkeeper saves - UC: Bryheem Hancock 3. BC: Chris Hamblin 10.
Corner kicks - UC: 12. BC: 4.
