The Sports Xchange
Sep 17, 2016

Virginia's quest for its first road win since 2012 and first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall's first win as the Cavaliers' head man fell short on Saturday.

The Cavalier's blew a 10-0 first-half lead and fell to Connecticut 13-10 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn.

Connecticut (2-1) got a 43-yard field goal by kicker Bobby Puyol with 1:33 remaining to put it ahead 13-10 and held on for the win.

Virginia (0-3) had an opportunity to tie the game as time expired but a 20-yard field goal attempt by Alex Furbank went wide left.

The Cavaliers lost despite out-gaining the Huskies 381-277. A Kurt Benkert interception late in the fourth quarter set Connecticut up for the game-winning field goal.

Benkert finished the day 23-for-42 for 241 yards.

Connecticut was led by quarterback Bry Shirreffs who threw for 154 yards, and ran for another 33, which included a touchdown. Wide receiver Noel Thomas caught six passes for 91 yards.

Virginia started the scoring in the first quarter as Furbank connected on a 23-yard field goal to put the Cavaliers up 3-0 after an 86-yard drive. Virginia went ahead by two scores early in the second quarter as running back Albert Reid scored from 9 yards out, capping off another impressive drive of 90 yards.

The Cavaliers led 10-3 at halftime.

Connecticut's defense shut the Cavaliers down in the final 30 minutes as they scored 10 unanswered points to steal away their second win of the season. Despite having just one sack and converting 3-of-13 on third donw, the Huskies held the ball for 31:33 and committed just three penalties.

Virginia's lone turnover led to seven Connecticut points.