This past week we were able to achieve two really good results.  The match with Hofstra provided us with a very difficult opponent who is much better than their record reflects as shown by their 4-3 win over San Diego. 

 

Our match with a much improved Georgetown team was a very tactical one.  Coach Brian Wiese has done a magnificent job in his two years there.  His Hoyas were very well organized and very disciplined, they played us in a very compact 4-4-2.  Our group showed great patience and resilience until we were able to break them down. 

 

The game winner was a beauty by Akeem Priestley.  It was a 25-yarder into the upper right hand corner, seven minutes into extra time.  A sidebar to Akeem's goal was that five minutes into extra time, I had Chukwudi Chijindu ready to check in and take Akeem's place.  John Deeley says to me:  "Hey, hold Chuck for a few, Akeem is playing well", so we held Chuck  and three minutes later Akeem gets the match winner. 

 

The best part was Chuck was the first one off the bench and ecstatic and happy that we hadn't taken Akeem off the pitch.  Chuck is showing some real great character in accepting his role and doing what is best for the team.  Chuck's unselfishness has become extremely contagious within the group.

 

Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Julius James, Oscar Castillo and Greg King were brilliant this week in the backfield.  Euan Holden and Sean Nicklaw really gave us a great jumpstart when they entered the match this week.

 

The Huskies travel for matches on Friday, September 21st at the University of South Florida and Sunday, September 23rd at DePaul.  This will be two very difficult matches on the road.  The USF Bulls are one of the top three teams in the BIG EAST this year.  They have technique, pace and are very well organized.  They have four or five of the best players in the league and they know how to play.  The Huskies relish the fact that we are underdogs this week at USF. 

 

Coach Craig Blazer has done a great job of building the DePaul team.  They have talent and love to compete.  The trip to Chicago will certainly test the Huskies.

 

Our home crowd was unbelievable on Saturday vs. Georgetown.  The Goal Patrol continues to grow and they are an unbelievable support group.  We are very fortunate at UCONN to have such passionate fans.

 

On Friday, September 14th we had our annual Meet the Huskies Dinner.  The honorees that night included Steve Nicol, Coach of the New England Revolution and our guest speaker was Nelson Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of International Business for Soccer United Marketing. 

 

We had over 400 people in attendance and the evening was a huge success.  My Assistant Coach, Paul McDonough, was responsible for the evening and did a fantastic job overseeing and coordinating this event, which was our best dinner ever.  Paul never ceases to amaze me with his tireless work ethic and it came shining through once again with this magnificent event.