November 17, 2006

IT WAS A GREAT RUN... too bad it had to end. As elated as we were with our PK shootout win over Rutgers last Saturday evening, we felt an equal level of sadness in our shootout loss last night to Lehigh University. As I sit here on the bus on the way back from Pennsylvania, I still feel deeply for the players as I know they put everything they had into a game played with 22 players on a 120 yard x 75 yard surface. In the end, the game was decided between two players from a spot just 12 yards from the goal.

You have to know that it was a great atmosphere at Lehigh and a well-hosted event. The weather was warm, the field in good condition, it's the second round of the NCAA tournament and the crowd was a record-setter for the Ulrich Sports Complex. We couldn't have asked for more...

The game began with a good amount of pressure (as expected) by the home team, which had not played in two weeks. Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England), who has gotten better and better as the season has progressed, made a point blank save to preserve the 0-0 score early in.

We weathered the storm and on our first real open chance, Lukasz Tumicz (Biszytnek, Poland) scored his seventh goal of the season off a Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) assist. We felt as though were on our way but Lehigh was not about to lay down, as their 15-1-2 regular-season record and #16 seed would attest.

The game was one of ebbs and flows as each team got their chances to change the score line. Our best chance came when Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) put Tumicz through for semi-break-a-way but the Mountain Hawk GK made a nice stop. It looked as though the game would end with another Rhody win but unfortunately Lehigh equalized off a counter with just 6 minutes to go in regulation.

In overtime, each team had at least one quality chance but the match would end, as regulation did, knotted at one apiece. It would now be up to the shootout and it just was not our day as Lehigh prevailed, 5-4, in sudden death.

It was a tough and abrupt ending to a season we had hoped would extend for at least another week. It was hard for me to watch the players, many with tears in their eyes, agonize over this result. But now, as I did last night, I feel nothing but pride for being a part of this season and such a great program.

As I told the players after the game, that I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world to have had the fortune to come to Rhode Island, have this great group of men handed to me on a silver platter and do what we did together. I have to thank Tom McElroy and Eddie Bradley for that...

Most of all, I'm honored to have been with this senior class in their final year. They are a wonderful group of people and each contributed to the successes of the season in their own unique ways. My hat goes off to Jim Goetter, Jeff Gonsalves, B.J. Kochis, Mark Sauter and Joe Spofford for the legacy they leave for future URI men's soccer players.

In the next week, as the fog of disappointment lifts, we will be able to look back and realize what a great season 2006 was for all involved. On behalf of the team and our staff I want to thank our parents, friends and alums who have been such great supporters over the fall. URI soccer is here to stay and we will make sure you are a part of it.

GO RAMS!

November 13, 2006

Well, it was an exciting night in Piscataway... maybe not as exciting as the Rutgers vs. Louisville football game the Thursday before, but exciting nonetheless. If you were there you know what I mean.

Our guy's were FANTASTIC, playing with passion, heart and a will to win. We scored about 6 minutes in and were on our way. See if you can picture this....

It all started when freshmen goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) collected a Rugters cross and threw out immediately to Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) who played it first time wide to Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa). Danleigh dribbled inside and found Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) up top who connected with Geoff Cameron (Attleboro, MA) streaking up the field in support. Geoff went wide and got behind the Scarlet Knights on the dribble and sent a driven ball across the goal that Gonsalves (remember now, he was one of the ones who started all this!), who deposited it into an open goal. It was beautiful!

Rutgers tied it in the second half on a bomb from 30 yards... and the rest of the way either team could have won it.

After two 10 minute overtimes it was on to the shootout the boy's prevailed (4-2) in a penalty shootout with Pennock saving one after Rutgers missed one. Tri-captain Callum Bissett (Pencaitland, Scotland) drove home the game winner and it was pandemonium!

It was a performance that would have made you proud! We had an unbelievable crowd of RHODY parents, students, alums and friends at the game who just added to the tremendous atmosphere (Thanks to all of you for coming to support us!).

You can see photos of the game and our fans by clicking on the "Photo Gallery" link in the game recap on our website (http://gorhody.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/111206aaa.html).

Anyway, we are off to the 2nd round of the Division I NCAA tournament which will be held:

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15TH
7:00 PM
vs #16 SEED - LEHIGH UNIVERSITY
Bethlehem, PA

Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and there is talk of a fan bus being organized so if you are interested in going drop me a line back and I will let you know. I have heard that one will go if a minimum of 40 people sign up.

If you can't make the game LIVE VIDEO and AUDIO will be broadcast online at: http://www.lehighsports.com/info/broadcast/ (click on the words "CLICK HERE" at the bottom of the schedule and above the broadcast logos) with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports. Additionally, the game will be broadcast on 91.3 FM in the Lehigh Valley.

The winner of our game will face the winner of the Duke-Brown match in the third round of the tournament.

We really hope you can be with us, but if not, make sure you watch us on-line!

GO RAMS!

November 7, 2006

WE DID IT! The guy's brought another Atlantic 10 Championship back to URI. The third in four years! What a streak. Hopefully many of you got to see the games this past weekend via webcast from the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. If you didn't, it was a weekend that would have made you proud.

The team went into the tournament as the #2 seed and the advantage of having the semi-final be our first game. We arrived in Charlotte on Wednesday and got a chance to train and get used to the lay of the land. On Thursday the team spent the morning in study hall, midday training and then watched the quarterfinals to see who we would play on Friday. In the first game #3 seed Richmond beat Xavier 1-0 on a goal in the last 2 minutes. In the nightcap host UNC-Charlotte battled Duquesne in a great game to watch with the Dukes ending up on the plus side of a 1-0 score. Richmond would be our next game by virtue of the Spiders being the highest seed remaining of the four. We could now make our plans.

On Friday the game could not have come any sooner. The guy's spent the day in anticipation of the game that night. After a nice pre-game meal at Cirro's Italian Restaurant which was adjacent to our hotel, we got ourselves ready. When we arrived at the field top seed St. Louis University was deadlocked with Duquesne at the half. The Billikens got a second-half goal with about 20 minutes to go put them in the lead, and eventually into the final on Sunday.

Now it was our turn. The first 20 minutes of the match with Richmond was all URI. The ball was "pinging" around and through the Spider defense creating numerous chances. Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa), who was playing center midfield in place of Dawid Badecki (Jelenia Gora, Poland) who was sitting because of yellow card accumulation, got the best opportunity on a short clearance and made it count. He proceeded to hit a cracker of a volley from 18 yards that deflected off a Richmond defender and into the back of the net. The team was ecstatic! Richmond mounted a formidable comeback but the defense held strong and the game ended 1-0.

The final would now be a rematch of the 2005 Atlantic 10 finals.

Saturday was a recovery day and a chance to relax and have some fun. We had a light training session which mainly consisted of a hotly contested game of soccer tennis. The mood was light and the confidence was high. We returned to Cirro's for another nice meal - carbo loading for Sunday's match. A good nights rest would do us well and I knew after our team meeting that night, the boy's would be ready to play.

We awoke to a beautiful morning on Sunday and the weather was going to be perfect for the final. We headed over and got our warm-up going and before we knew it, it was game time. St. Louis was the 9th ranked team in the country coming into the match in the first 20 minutes they showed us why.

The guy's withstood the attacks and looked to capitalize on Billiken mistakes. Senior forward Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) did just that when he shot a ball at a surprised SLU goalkeeper which deflected off his hands into the goal... 1-0 Rams.

After the interval we returned to the field knowing that SLU would be pressing to score. Just 5 minutes into the second stanza, Atlantic 10 Tournament MVP Danleigh Borman received a ball out of our defense and knocked it over the SLU defenders to Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland), who deftly side-footed a volley over a stranded St. Louis goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead. Now we were cooking!

SLU continued but seemed to deflate. However they still came at us because they are a quality team. We got some timely help from super subs Joe Spofford (Waterville, ME), Steve Mellen (N. Kingstown, RI), Kedan Crosby (St. James Trinidad) and Steven Scalzo (Plymouth, MN) and we defended well and killed the game. The A-10 Championship and the NCAA automatic bid were ours!

So, now it's on to the Big Dance... the third time in the past four years! I've received a tremendous amount of congratulatory e-mails and phone calls but I have to thank Eddie Bradley for handing to me (on a silver platter) a great squad and terrific bunch of men. He, along with our parents, friends and alums supported and encouraged us when we were 1-2-2 back in September, having the faith that we could do it.

Other people like Dr. John Sullivan our sports psychologist, Doug Stone in strength and conditioning and GK coach Ben Smith donated their time and are pivotal elements in getting us to this point. Lastly, our athletic trainer Michelle "Dr. Frankenstein" Levreault, Frank Bergren, Pat Laughlin and Gareth Elliott have been consistent forces in keeping our team together (literally).

We're gonna make a run at it and we hope you will keep up with us as we begin the second season at Rutgers University on November 11th!

GO RAMS!