November 21, 2007

Well, there are some days where things just seem to click and then there are those where your luck seems to run out... and that's what ours did this weekend in Dayton...

We had lost only once in the past 11 games and were undefeated in the last 5 but we would have traded all that for just one more win on Friday night. Disappointment is the only way I can describe it. I feel disappointed not as much that we didn't advance in the Atlantic 10 tournament but more so because we were not afforded the chance to give this senior class one more game in their distinguished careers. It was very hard for all of us but particularly difficult for them - there was not a shortage of tears at the end of the game.

Our season came to a very abrupt end on Friday night, with a 1-0 loss to our travel partner the University of Massachusetts. Our only solace lies in the fact that the Minutemen went on to win the A-10 tournament - and received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. UMass beat UNC-Charlotte (2-0) after Charlotte eliminated Saint Louis University in a penalty kick shoot-out in their semifinal match (also on Friday night).

Our hats go off to UMass coach Sam Koch and his team - they found a way to get it done under tough conditions, a less-than-favorable playing surface and three games in four days. Our program had been their before, and accomplished the same feat, so through our disappointment, the boys could understand the excitement they felt. Good luck to them!

I know it was hard for the players to watch the game and celebration that followed. I wished we could have gotten a flight out on Saturday, but in the long run, I think it was an important experience for our young players - to see what they will begin to prepare for in a few short months.

At the end of the championship game, it was nice to see Callum Bissett (Pencaitland, Scotland), Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, MA) and Adam Howarth (Isle of Wight, England) be recognized as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Tournament Team. It was a well deserved way to finish off their fantastic A-10 careers.

As my assistant Mitch Stone told all the seniors back at the hotel on Friday after the semifinal, you are all defined by the results tonight and the exciting thing is that you have much to look forward to in your future lives.

Well, you would think that we would be able to relax a bit but as they say - there is no rest for the weary. We have a lot to do between now and the end of the semester including organizing our recruiting schedule and trying to fill in the pieces of the class we are losing. They are so special!

So far, the only thing I can say is that we already have some commitments and are on the trail of some very good players who we think fit the URI men's soccer mold for success. People keep saying that we are going to have to re-build - but I just say we are re-loading! With the players we have returning, plus those we will have coming in, we will be ready to compete in "a manner we are accustomed to" once again.

By the way - exciting things are happening here at URI with the athletic department receiving an anonymous donation of 1 MILLION DOLLARS! Some of this will go towards the new Student-Athlete Development Center, but much will go to improving the baseball field with a new astro-grass infield and the installment of irrigation and new sod in the outfield. We are hoping that in the future we'll be able to finish up our own game facility with the completion of the press box/dugout project as well as resurfacing our practice field - which never seems to get much rest (except for during the winter months). So, if you know of anyone with a spare mil (or even a half or quarter) lying around tell them to go ahead and send it along! :)

Speaking of fundraising, its that time of the year and many of you will soon get a letter/e-mail from us with a request to join (or re-join) the "Friends of URI Soccer". Your donations are important to the lifeblood of the program so we hope you will be able to help.

We will also be in touch with a couple of announcements of "Friends" events including a reception on Thursday January 24th at the first home basketball game of the second semester. It was a fun event last year and we hope to make it even better this time around.

Another special project which our soccer "intern" Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) has been working on is a 2008 URI Men's Soccer Calendar which will include photos from a various eras which have made URI men's soccer what it is today. We will be selling them to family, alumni and friends so keep your eyes peeled for the details!

Finally, don't forget that we have limited edition URI t-shirts for sale out of the soccer office which would make great holiday gifts. E-mail me for details or to have one sent along.

Before I sign off, I want to say thanks on behalf of the players and staff for all of the support you have shown us over the season. After a difficult start against some very good teams, I wasn't surprised to get the e-mails and phone calls of encouragement from all of you. Special thanks to Russell Blank, Terry Casey, Mike Hoffer, Lance Klima, Dan & Vince McCrudden and Mike Rogers (among others) who continually offered kind words, support and encouragement to the players and staff throughout this fall.

We didn't get to where we were ultimately heading, but you can trust me in the fact that you would have been proud at the way the guys represented URI soccer.

Have a great Thanksgiving Holiday and GO RAMS!

November 15, 2007

As I sit here on the bus, on the ride back from Philadelphia, I feel like I have a little time to relax. With Veterans Day upon us and no classes for the guys tomorrow, the office should be quiet. Nonetheless, it's going to be a busy day as we are preparing to take off for the Atlantic 10 Championship in Dayton, OH.

By virtue of this weekend's wins over Temple (2-0) and St. Joe's (4-2) in the "City of Brotherly Love", we secured the #2 seed in the conference tournament. Getting one of the top two seeds is the goal we have been working for all season and after our rough start, it is quite satisfying to accomplish what we set out to do.

On Friday, we played in the afternoon - which is unusual for the A-10 weekends. But Temple does not have lights at its field, so it actually was nice to have the extra time between games. Although Temple was not doing particularly well on the season, we knew that Coach Dave McWilliams and his team were a better playing team than their record showed.

We got a very good performance out of the guys in the beginning of the first half, but Temple found some success in the middle third of the stanza. Credit goes to the boys for getting back on track and as the half was ending, we started to gain momentum.

The build up of energy paid off and manifested itself in a lightning strike to the top left corner from 25 yards out by Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) to put us on top. That confidence kept us going until Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, MA) knocked a through ball to Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) for the insurance goal and the win.

The boys would get a good days rest on Saturday - and we knew it was much needed as Sunday's game which was going to literally be a dog fight. We were playing for the second seed and more importantly, St. Joe's was playing at home, on their senior day in a game which would put them in the Atlantic 10 tournament for the first time in 13 years. This was a huge weight for our guys to bear... especially where these games - played on the old time Astroturf on "Hawk Hill" - were traditionally physical.

The guys handled the physical play and their emotions well, netting two first-half goals by Geoffrey Cameron and Callum Bissett's (Pencaitland, Scotland) first of the year, on a corner from Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa).

We began the second half with a bit of a different line-up trying to protect a few players who were carrying yellow cards and in jeopardy of having to sit out the next game (first round of the A-10 tournament) if they received another.

The changes didn't alter things on the field as Lukasz Tumicz netted back-to-back goals to increase the lead. This gave us a cushion to be able to get some other guys some experience. In the final 20 minutes of the game, we only had 3 starters left on the field.

St. Joe's made a brief comeback with two goals off of free kicks but the experience our young players gained after that far outweighed the score of the game. I was very proud of them and think that they will grow from this time on the field.

Well, we're excited to get going to Dayton but it's not all sunshine and daisies as we leave early (6:00 am) on Wednesday. We will get a couple of days to recover and will find out after Thursday nights quarterfinal games who our opponent will be come the semifinals on Friday night.

I feel as though the team is firing on all cylinders right now, although we still have our best game in front of us. Keep us in mind this weekend as we take the field looking for that jewel that is the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship. We're looking forward to the challenge and appreciate the support everyone has shown us over the season...

GO RAMS!

November 7, 2007

Well, I know I am late in getting this edition of "From This End of the Bench" to you all but it's taken me a while to recover from this past weekend's excitement. We may as well be called the "Cardiac Kids" for the time of our game-winning goals over the last four matches. I am sure I have even less hair now then I had before the weekend began. And I have to be honest here, that's not a name by which any coach really wants be known. But, I have to admit it is a lot of fun when you are on the positive side of things.

As anyone who has competed in the Atlantic 10 knows, no game is easy. At times, some become that way, but I never go into the game with the attitude we will win by just showing up. Both Fordham and LaSalle came to Kingston sporting good A-10 records, the former being second in the league with a 4-1-0 record. It took two great efforts and a little luck to come up with the 1-0 wins (and shutouts to boot - which are nice byproducts of the work put in during the match by everyone).

Lukasz Tumicz (Bisznytek, Poland) continued on his hot scoring pace with the winner on Friday off a Steve Mellen (N. Kingstown, RI) assist. Steve had a chance to score himself but set Lukasz up with a goal on a silver platter - which defines Steve to a "T" - he's a hard worker who does whatever is needed for the team to be successful - whether its for 9 minutes or 90.

On Sunday, it was a little different matter. Although we dominated in the statistical categories, we give La Salle a ton of credit for keeping things even and giving themselves chances to win with their counter attack. It was not until about 01:30:00 left on the game clock that Adam Howarth (Isle of Wight, England) slipped a ball under the Explorer keeper off a Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) corner for his first collegiate goal... It's a wonder how a 6'4" central defender would score with a little redirect while going to ground, as opposed to that powerful melon of his. But, the self proclaimed "Henri" of a practice game we play called "Bread & Butter" will remember it for the rest of his life! It was a great way to celebrate "Senior Day" and it kept us on our quest to qualify for the A-10 tournament and gain a top seed.

This weekend was an important one for us and the boys knew it. They came through with flying colors, not only in terms of results, but with performances worthy of the class of players who were competing in their last regular season home games as a Ram. It was a very emotional day for everyone. As I said to Dr. John Sullivan on the sidelines, "This is one of my favorite days but also one of the most difficult."

It was wonderful to have the Algozers (mom & dad), Badeckis (mom & dad), Bissetts (mom, dad, grandma, sister, brother and sister's boyfriend), Camerons (mom, dad & grandpa), Howarths (mom & step-dad) and Mellens (mom & dad) here with us. I also thank Nancy Kelly, Frank Bergren, Jeffrey Gonsalves and Gareth Elliott as well as Sheila, Megan and Michael O'Connor for acting as surrogate families for those who could not be with us on this special occasion.

Whether it was at Dartmouth, Chicago or here at URI, it is always difficult for me to realize how quickly time passes. As I watched these men - Adam, Badecki, Callum, Danleigh, Geoffrey, Gozer, Lukasz, Mellen, Scalzo - walk to the middle of the field to be recognized with their families and friends, I couldn't help but count my blessings to have such a great group to start my career with at URI. They are the reason this program has been so successful over the past four years. To be accepted into such a tight-knit group with such enthusiasm, and to be trusted in leading them, is something I will never forget. My hat goes off to them!

Now it is off to the "City of Brotherly Love" for our last two regular season matches at Temple (Friday at 2:00 pm) and St. Joseph's (Sunday at 1:00 pm). Each one is important in reaching our goal of a 1 or 2 seed in the A-10 Tournament.

Keep an eye on us via "Gametracker" and keep the positive vibes going!

GO RAMS!