WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - After a scoreless regulation and two scoreless overtime periods, the University of Connecticut men's soccer team fell to Monmouth University 4-3 in a shootout in a First Round NCAA Tournament match-up on Thursday afternoon on The Great Lawn on the MU campus.

With the tie, UConn finishes its season 11-4-4 on the year as Monmouth improves to 18-1-2.

In the shootout, Carlos Alvarez took the first shot but missed wide as RJ Allen followed up with his shot missing wide right. Toni Stahl was next as he drilled his shot into the top right corner of the net. Monmouth's Dan Bostock matched Stahl's score to tie the shootout at one. Cruz Hernandez followed, knocking in his shot before the Hawk's Ryan Kinne mimicked his score.

Robert Brickley's shot was blocked by Meredith before Cody Calafiore's shot bounced off both posts andexited the goal area. UConn's Alan Ponce made his attempt but was matched by the Hawks. Mike Pezza took the sixth attempt in the shootout and his shot was punched out of the goal area by Meredith before Cesar Blacido knocked in the game-winning goal to win the shootout 4-3.

UConn controlled possession of the ball for the majority of the first half and outshot the Hawks 4-2 during the first 45 minutes of play.

Senior Kwame Watson-Siriboe recorded the first shot on goal in today's contest as he connected on a Carlos Alvarez corner, but his header knocked off the crossbar, coming within inches of putting the Huskies up in the first 10 minutes in the match. Ponce also picked up a shot on goal with a header from 10 yards out of the goal area to give the Huskies a 4-2 shot advantage early in the game. The Huskies continued to control the tempo of the game, limiting the Hawks' shot chances in the first half.

The Huskies began the second half where they left off before intermission as they dominated possession of the ball early. Monmouth earned some opportunities in the second half as they were given three direct kicks before the 60th minute mark but the UConn defense halted all those chances before the Hawks were able to make a play. Monmouth's best scoring opportunity came in the 67th minute as Ryan Kinne's header missed just wide of the net. Stephane DIOP also recorded a shot on goal with 7:15 left in regulation as Ponce sent the ball in the air into the box, where DIOP was there with a header that went into the hands of Monmouth's goalkeeper, Bryan Meredith.

With under two minutes remaining in the second half, junior Greg King received a pass down the near side of the field from DIOP and put a perfectly placed cross into the box where he found Ponce at the far post. Ponce's header was the last shot of regulation as Meredith made the save to keep the score knotted at zero.

In overtime the Huskies struck first as Pezza drilled a shot from the top of the box but missed wide of the target. UConn did the same in the second overtime period as Alvarez lined a ground shot toward net as Meredith was there to make his fourth save of the game.

In the shootout, Monmouth came out on top 4-3.

Ford finished the afternoon with one save, while Meredith made four in the first round battle.

The Hawks will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they will travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on 10th ranked Harvard on Sunday, Nov. 22. Game time for that match will be at 1:30 p.m.