UCONN Downs Clemson 2-1 in Overtime in NCAA Tourney |
Clemson, SC -- Cesar Cuellar scored on a bicycle kick from 15 yards in front
of the goal with 3:42 left in the first overtime, bringing Connecticut to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Clemson in the second round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament at Riggs Field at Clemson, SC. Clemson held a 1-0 lead with 24:46 left in the match when the Tigers Oskar Bringsved was called for his second yellow card of the game. That meant an ejection and the Tigers were forced to play with just 10 men the remainder of the game. Clemson's defense was outstanding over the next 20 minutes, holding the Huskies out of the scoring column. But, at the 86:26 mark, Donny Mark scored just his second goal of the seaason for the Huskies. The senior from Minnesota took a shot from 22 yards out straight in front of the goal. The ball was deflected by Clemson goal keeper Doug Warren, but rolled into the left corner of the Clemson goal to tie the score. Chris Gbandi was credited with an assist on the play. The contest went into overtime where Cuellar made the game winner. He beat Clemson goal keeper Doug Warren, who was outstanding all day. He had 10 saves, a season high and was a reason the game went into overtime even though Clemson played the last 25 minutes of regulation down a man. This was the sixth all-time meeting between Clemson and UCONN, two soccer powers who both claimed National Championships in the sport in the 1980s. Clemson won the crown in 1984 and 1987, while UCONN won the title in 1981. It was the first meeting in NCAA play however. The two teams met in an exhibition game at UCONN on August 26th, a 3-0 UCONN win. Clemson took a 1-0 lead just 8:59 into the match when Mark Lisi scored his 15th goal of the season. Lisi took a pass from Pablo Webster inside the goal keeper box and beat UCONN goal keeper Bryheem Hancock to the short side, the left side of the goal with a ground ball. It was just the 13th goal allowed by Hancock all season. Lisi, a national player of the year candidate, has now scored at least one goal in 11 of the last 15 games and has all 15 of his goals this year during that time. The first-team All-ACC player missed the first three games of the year due to injury. Webster's assist was his 13th of the season, best on the Clemson team. Webster now has seven assists in his last five games. UCONN had its chances in the first half. They actually outshot Clemson 8-7 in the first 45 minutes of play. Their best chance came with 31:07 left in the first half. Cesar Cuellar , a freshman from Bolivia and the leading scorer for Ray Reid's Huskie team, let go with a rifle shot from 20 yards out that hit the cross bar, shaking the entire goal and drawing a reaction from the crowd. The ball bounced back in play where Clemson recovered. Connecticut had another chance with 25:40 left in the half when Edwin Rivera came in strong from the right side and his left footed shot from the left side was tipped away by Clemson goal keeper Doug Warren. Scoring Summary 1. CLEMSON-Mark Lisi (Pablo Webster), 8:59 2. UCONN-Donny Mark (Chris Gbandi), 86:26 3. UCONN-Cesar Cuellar (unassisted), 101:18 Shots: Clemson 10, UCONN 26 Corner Kicks: Clemson 5, UCONN 7 Saves: Warren (CU) 11, Hancock (UCONN) 1 Fouls: Clemson 20, UCONN 14 Offsides: Clemson 4, UCONN 0 Attendance: 1,260 Clemson Head Coach Trevor Adair "It is hard to play with 10 men. I give credit to our team in trying to hold off a fine UCONN team. I have an empty feeling in my stomach for our seniors, who were committed to winning a national championship. We played very well in the first half. UCONN is a good team with outstanding players. I am proud of my team. "In any soccer match it is unfortunate that a player is taken out and one team has to play with 10 men. "I was blocked out and really didn't see the final goal. It was a bicycle kick. Cuellar is a good player. We tried to put an extra player on him. Tactically we did a good job, we just couldn't hang on a few more minutes. Doug got a hand on it, but it went into the goal. "This senior class is the best senior class I have ever had. A lot of these guys will be playing professionally. They committed themselves to our program, to Clemson soccer. As a number-two seed, we felt we had a chance to win it all, but we knew this would be a difficult game. Our bracket was very tough. This game was like a quarterfinal game." Mark Lisi "The ball flipped up in the air after Pablo sent the ball in. I was able to score. UCONN is a great team. This is tough for the seniors. We put so much effort into this season. To come up short is difficult, you don't want it to end. I am proud of everyone who put on a jersey this year and for our coaching staff. "We needed to keep the ball more when we were down a man. It is difficult to do. Mike Potempa "I thought we were in good shape at the half with a 1-0 lead. We had accomplished what we wanted. We needed to score more goals. But, when you get down a man it is hard to get an attack going. I still thought we could hold on and we almost did. We gave up two unfortunate goals when we were down a man. " UCONN Head Coach Ray Reid "This was a tough game. Clemson is a very good team, well coached. It is not the same team we played in the preseason. Mark Lisi is one of the best players in college soccer. "We took this as a challenge, going on the road. It was a tough game and our team did not crack. We kept our composure. Donny Mark's was a great goal and of course Cuellar's goal was outstanding. "It was a great college soccer game. Clemson was the top seed in this part of the bracket and it was deserved. "With a second yellow the player leaves the game. That was the call and you play on. "We got great play from our bench. That is one of our strengths, depth. That made a difference in the game, it gave us a thrust today. "At halftime we were down and I told the team to keep going. Get a goal and tie it up. I told them to keep their head up. Often the team down a man gets motivated. It takes a lot of energy out of you when you are a man down. We just kept going. "Donny Mark is a very good player. He gives us a different look at midfield.
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