Bag me! This week, we tackle three questions and three sports. Let’s start with the team about to take the field.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered, or you’re just hearing about this and want to get in on the fun, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter.
Mike Sevo: What does the future hold for Tim Boyle? With Shirreffs in town, I can’t imagine he’ll see much more PT in his college career barring unforeseen circumstances (knocks on wood).
Yeah, barring injury to Shirreffs (please no please please please no), it appears that Boyle won’t get much time in the foreseeable future. If UConn gets into a blowout, you might see him take a few snaps here and there, but that’s about it. He wasn’t terrible last year, but he just didn’t do enough to differentiate himself. Then Shirreffs came in and showed us what it’s like to see an adequate quarterback. It was different. It was exciting. We weren’t quite sure what was happening, but we liked it.
I should note that we have seen Boyle in as the kick holder for field goals, extra points and game-ending controversial trick plays, but that’s hardly a role that the junior can like. For now, he has the unenviable role of backup who has already burnt his redshirt this season.
Keep your head up, Tim and keep working. You never know when the team will need you.
@Spex554: Serious question (possibly for a mailbag?) where does she (Rachel Hill) rank in terms of @UConnWSOC records? Goals in a season/game/all time?
Thanks for this question because it gave me an excuse to deep dive on some UConn women’s soccer records. Rachel Hill could very well end up in the top 10 all-time in goals by the end of this season. She’s got 38 goals so far, and No. 10 on the list has 41. Seems pretty likely she’ll score three more this season. The UConn media doesn’t list her 16 goals from last season on their single-year list, but she should be there, too. Her 16 goals last year was UConn’s 11th-best performance all-time. Again, it seems likely she’ll get there again because she’s already got nine goals in 12 games. The most goals scored in a single game is five, a feat reached by three players in the team’s history.
Moira Buckley, who played from 1980-83 is the all-time leader in goals (63) and points (166). Doesn’t seem like Hill will catch her, (she’s at 38 goals and 87 points) but she should be in the upper echelon of UConn women’s soccer players by the end of her career. She’s about to catch semi-recent UConn great Sara Whalen in points (Whalen finished with 89). Whalen’s name is all over the UConn record books, and you may know her name because she played for the USWNT from 1997 to 2000 (including playing in the 1999 World Cup). Also, she was a three-time All-American and the 1997 National Player of the Year [Ed. note: that’s not semi-recent, Meghan is just old]. She’s one of two players to have her number retired at UConn and it should be noted that Whalen played defense her freshman and sophomore year before moving to striker. Moira’s sister Tara is the only other Husky to have her number retired, and she’s the only UConn women’s soccer player ever to be a four-time All-American.
Hill doesn’t get many assists (because sister be taking those shots), but with three so far this year, she’s already matched her season total from last season. In case you’re wondering, the single-season record for goals is 24, set by Mary-Frances Monroe in 1998, and single-season points record is 65, also set by Monroe in ’98. UConn played in 23 games last year and 20 the year before, so we’re about halfway through the season.
So, in short, Hill is on the list of all-time best players to come through UConn, but it’s not likely that she’s going to top the stat lists before she leaves.
Coffill: What are realistic expectations for the MD game? I’m looking forward to wearing my blue and white around College Park on Dec 8/9.
For UConn, winning the game is a realistic goal, even if Maryland is a top-three team to start the year. Maryland has more talent than UConn does, but it doesn’t appear that there is any one area that the Terps have an overwhelming advantage. Jake Layman and Diamond Stone should combine for a pretty nasty frontcourt, but you have to hope that Amida Brimah has improved enough to hold his own and that Shonn Miller adjusts quickly to life in major college basketball. Miller as an expert rebounder and Brimah as a shot-blocking force should make things difficult for the Terps offensively.
Maryland has a star-studded backcourt in Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon, but the Huskies have an experienced hand at the point (Sterling Gibbs), with Rodney Purvis and Daniel Hamilton in the 3-spot. Throw in Jalen Adams off the bench and that could be enough firepower to really test the Terps over the course of the game.
It’s going to be a fun night, win or lose. The Garden should be filled with a divided crowd in primetime, and in December, can you really ask for more than that?
In order to get the most out of your experience for this game, we ask that you follow the three pillars of UConn game-going:
Show up. Get drunk. Get loud.
– Russ
