UConn Men's Soccer continues to produce some great talent for MLS....In the first decade of the 2000's, that trend continued where the Huskies were atop the Big East and challenging for more NCAA Tournament success. One of those who played a key role from 2008-11 was Midfielder Tony Cascio, a product of Hamilton HS in Gilbert, Arizona...Where he was a four year starter where he led his team in goals and was a 1st Team, All Region Selection in both his Junior & Senior Years....And in the fall of 2007, he was recruited not only to play soccer at UConn, but he also kicked field goals for his HS Football Team where they won the State Championship....
Upon arrival in Storrs, he played with the likes of Dori Arad, Akeem Priestley, keeper Josh Ford and the reigning Herman Trophy Winner in O'Brien White. Cascio started 15 of 22 games and scored his first college goal in an NCAA Tournament win over Virginia...He was second on the team in assists with 6. That included a pair against Dartmouth and at Pittsburgh. The Huskies went 11-5-6 and lost to Creighton in OT...
Cascio's Sophomore Season of 2009, Carlos Alverez joined the program...With Ford back in goal, Midfielder of the Year Toni Stahl and Co-Defensive POY Kwame Watson-Siriboe, the Huskies went 11-4-4. Tony Cascio started all 19 games and led the team with 7 goals and 19 points....He scored game winners in October against Georgetown and Seton Hall. Plus the first multi-goal game (2) against Providence...He was named first team All Big East, but the Huskies would feel the pain of a PK shootout loss in the NCAA's to Monmouth after scoreless soccer.
Tony's Junior season would be his best as a Husky...with Alverez, the team leader in assists, Ford back in goal, plus of r firepower up front with Stephane Diop and Mamadou Diouf, the Huskies again would have success on the pitch. Cascio excelled with a 10 goal - 6 assist season. 1g-1a against South Carolina, a hat trick against USF and a 2 goal game against Seton Hall. In all, 4 game winning goals in 2010 as the Huskies went 12-2-6..Cascio named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year...But in the NCAA's after a 1-1 tie against Brown, the PK shootout went 14 rounds with the Ivy League School winning 7-6. Again an agonizing defeat....Casio was named an NSCAA & College Soccer News First Team All American.
The 2011 team brought back Cascio, Alverez, Diop and Diouf...along with a new goal keeper in Andre Blake. The Huskies didn't skip a beat. 19-3-2 where Mamadou Diouf's scoring took off, 13 goals and Blake the Goalkeeper of the Year as a Freshman...Cascio started 19 of 25 games, scoring 5 goals and racking up 8 assists...1g-1a in a win over BC, 1g-1a in a win over Rutgers and 1g-1a in an NCAA win over James Madison that propelled the Huskies into the round of 8. Charlotte was next and Cascio scored UConn's only goal in yet another PK heartbreaker denying the Huskies a trip to the College Cup Final Four....Cascio named Big East and NSCAA All Northeast 2nd Team selections.....
In his four seasons playing for the Huskies, Tony Cascio played in 72 games, scored 24 goals and added 25 assists with 7 game winners....in the 2012 MLS Super Draft, Cascio was the 14th overall selection of Colorado, where he scored 4 goals in 42 games...But between an ACL injury and bulging disk issues in his back, Casio's career slowed..The first ever player "loaned" in MLS History to Houston....later Orlando City and recently playing in Arizona with Arizona United and Sporting AZ
Tony Cascio, a key contributor from 2008-11, an All American in 2010 and a UConn Legend....