Improved Rhody should test UConn St. Bernard girls edge Griswold 4-3 in 2 OT
Struggling Huskies can’t afford to take FCS program lightly
For the first time this season, UConn has a realistic shot at celebrating a victory on Saturday.
The Huskies' chances of winning the Mega Millions lottery were about as good as beating nationally-ranked Central Florida and Boise State the first two weeks ... and the results backed that up.
UConn was outscored 11824.
Coming off two lopsided losses, the Huskies host Rhode Island (2-0), an improved Football Championship Subdivision program, on Saturday (noon, SNY) at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
The series is the longest in UConn football history, dating back to 1897.
The Huskies (0-2) insist they won't take their New England neighbor lightly. They desperately need a morale-boosting win and definitely can't afford a confidence-crushing loss.
"You've got to respect them because they're 2-0," quarterback David Pindell said. "They're a pretty good team. But, then again, that's a team that we can beat. It's a winnable game. Everybody knows this is a winnable game, but you can't sleep on them."
Given its current state and recent history of struggles against FCS teams, UConn has no right to be over-confident.
In the last five seasons, the Huskies slipped past FCS foes in Stony Brook (19-16, 2014), Villanova (20-15, 2015), Maine (24-21, 2016) and Holy Cross (27-20, 2017).
Their last loss came against Towson State (33-18, 2013), which went on to reach the national championship game that season.
Rhode Island, which has suffered through 16 straight losing seasons, is off to its best start since 2005. Fifth-year coach Jim Fleming guided the Rams to a win at nationally-ranked Delaware and then beat Colonial Athletic Association foe Albany.
An active URI defense ranks 12th in the FCS in turnover margin at plus-three and turnovers gained with five while quarterback JaJuan Lawson is among the CAA leaders in several categories, including first in touchdown passes (five) and second in completion percentage RHODE ISLAND AT UCONN Noon, Rentschler Field, SNY
(71.4). He's thrown for 487 yards and only had one interception.
"Lawson is a really good player," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "He's slippery back there in the pocket."
Defensive coordinator Billy Crocker faced Rhode Island many times during his 12 years as an assistant coach at Villanova. He's impressed by the 2018 Rams.
"They're a good football team," Crocker said. "I know Jim really, really well and he's done a phenomenal job there. And they beat some real good teams last year. In terms of the skill that they have, they have some skill that could be comparable to what is in this league."
"... You can see it on film right now, those kids are playing as confident as any Rhode Island team I've ever seen. And I played against them a lot."
UConn has dominated the series, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings and posting more overall victories (51) against any opponent in program history.
URI last won in Edsall's second year in his first stint in Storrs, earning a 26-21 victory in 2000. It was the Huskies' first season as a Division I-A team while playing as an independent during the transition period from Division I-AA.
With a roster loaded with underclassmen, it feels like the Huskies are starting over again this season. Most players shouldn't be playing as much as they are, Edsall said.
"It's just something that we've got to continue to work through," Edsall said. "And the only way you do that is by going out there every day and working and getting better . ... Sometimes there's going to be a little bit of frustration. But you hope each week it gets less and less."
"This is a massive rebuild ... But these kids are working and they're trying." g.keefe@theday.com
Montville — Lindsay Clement's goal with a minute remaining in the second overtime gave unbeaten St. Bernard School a 4-3 victory over Griswold in an Eastern Connecticut Conference Division III girls' soccer match on Friday.
Erin Londregan assisted on the game-winner for the Saints (3-0, 1-0) while Clement finished with three goals and Halie Jennings added one goal and one assist.
Victoria Hannaford and Elizabeth Hannaford also had assists for St. Bernard and goalie Carly Potts stopped 10 shots. Griswold outshot the Saints, 18-9. In other games: • Scoreless at the half, East Lyme allowed two second-half goals to Woodstock Academy to lose the ECC Division I contest. Avery Owen had 11 saves for the Vikings (1-3, 0-1), who were outshot, 20-15.
• Annie Geoly scored the game's only goal as Ledyard defeated Waterford 1-0 in an ECC Division II match. Kate English assisted for the Colonels (1-2, 1-0). Waterford is 1-2, 0-1.
• Megan Detwiler had three goals and one assist to highlight Stonington's 5-0 ECC Division III win over New London.
Rachel Sabbadini added a goal and three assists for the Bears (2-1, 1-0) while Holly Foster and Maggie Constantine each added a goal and Vanessa Benjamin had two assists.
• Alyssa Penkauskas scored a pair of goals in the second half as Plainfield pulled away for a 4-0 win over Montville. Lauren Ross made eight saves in goal for Montville (11), which was outshot 17-2.
• Putnam scored two goals in each half en route to a 4-0 victory over Wheeler in an ECC Division IV match. Goalie Addie Hauptmann made 11 saves for the Lions (0-3, 0-1).
• Katherine Kearney scored both goals in Wilcox Tech's 2-0 win over Grasso Tech in the Connecticut Technical Conference. Goalie Dinorah Cruze made eight saves for the Eagles.
Boys
• Quinn Romeo had three goals and one assists as Old Lyme rolled to an 8-1 win over North Branford in the Shoreline Confence. Avery Welch, Peter Sherman and Evan Getz also scored for the Wildcats (1-2), who also scored on an own goal by North Branford, while Jesper Silberberg had two assists.
• Goodwin Tech scored a pair of second-half goals to rally past Grasso Tech 2-1 in the CTC. The Eagles (1-2) had taken a 1-0 lead in the first minute on an unassisted goal by Josh Asalade. Joel Potter made 12 saves in goal for Grasso Tech. Brady White threw for 269 yards and five touchdowns, Darrell Henderson had a career-high 233 yards rushing and two scores, and Memphis beat Georgia State 59-22 on Friday night. Memphis (2-1) had a successful fake punt on its first possession, leading the first of five straight touchdown-scoring drives. White threw four touchdown passes in the first half as Memphis led 38-10. Damonte Coxie scored twice for his first multi-touchdown game. Henderson scored from 54 and 61 yards, becoming the second Tiger to rush for 200-plus yards in back-to-back games. He had 212 yards and three touchdowns in Memphis’ 2221 loss to Navy last week. Kenny Gainwell scored his first touchdown for Memphis on a 72-yard run in the fourth quarter. Dan Ellington threw for 107 yards and was intercepted once for Georgia State (1-2). — Associated Press