September 4, 2008

Dear Alumni & Friends,

Hope you all had a good labor day and have been enjoying weather as beautiful as what we have had here in Kingston. We just returned from the first games of the 2008 season, coming away with a win and a loss in the 19th Annual UNH Nike Fall Classic hosted by the University of New Hampshire. It was a great setting to begin the season after 15 days of pre-season training. It was nice to get away on our own and begin the fall campaign.

In the first game of the weekend, we came up against former URI Assistant Coach Pat Laughlin and his University of Maine Black Bears. As many may know, I am a Maine graduate (Pat is too) so it was a doubly special game for both of us. Maine is a much improved team from a year ago and that is something I expected considering Pat's knowledge and experience. The guys were excited to get things going but also nervous at the same time. The Black Bears were the better team the first 30 minutes and earned a great goal on a 25 yard strike. It came from a corner that we defended well, but the ball bounced out to Maine center midfielder Niko Bogdonovic who drove it through a crowd into the corner of the goal. Ironically, Niko worked at our camp this past summer so I told him after the game he was "fired"...LOL. The half ended 0-1 to the other guys in blue.

In the second, after re-organizing and a spirited speech by junior transfer Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland), the boys came out with a fury. Their hard work and resolve paid off when sophomore Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) drove a diagonal cross over everyone, from the left side to the back post, where sophomore Josh Sousa (Cumberland, RI) headed it in. Maine would not back down and only a great save on a mini break-a-way by junior goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) would keep the score even at 1-1. The boys continued the pressure earning the game winner, this time off a corner. Junior transfer Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) bent a left footer to the back post where freshmen defender Franco LoPresti (Whitby, Ontario) headed it back into the 6 yard box. Sophomore defender Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) connected with it, glancing the ball off a Maine defender and in to put us up 2-1. The score remained the same and we got our first win of the season.

After a day off on Saturday, we moved onto Sunday's tournament final versus host New Hampshire who had beaten Adelphi University 2-1 in the first game on Friday. The Wildcats were a big crew so not only did we have to match their size but also playing against a stiff wind in the first half. The game started out well for our boys with the ball moving crisply on UNH's new field turf. Greg Balicki came out on fire getting several quality crosses into the box while Josh Sousa and senior forward Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) nearly put us on the board early. Unfortunately, UNH would find the net first on a 45-yard driven free kick. We had hoped to withstand the wind without any damage on the scoreboard and nearly did it.

The second half saw the Rams getting several very good chances and only a big save by the Wildcat GK kept us from equalizing. With 5 minutes to go, we pushed forward in an attempt to tie the game but with 47 seconds left on the clock, UNH broke on a 3 v 1 and only after Chris Pennock saved an initial shot did the home team tally to make the final score 2-0. It was a disappointing result in a game we felt good about, but kudos to the champions. Kedan Crosby, Greg Balicki and sophomore defender Ryan McCormick (Cranston, RI) were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts.

All in all, I thought we learned a lot about ourselves over the weekend. At this point in the season we are not the finished product and continue to work together to develop the squad. We began the Maine game with 1 freshman, 5 sophomores , 3 juniors and 2 seniors on the field with a deep bench of contributors who could be starters behind them. We are young and still looking for the best in each and every one of us. So, I'm confident we will find the consistency that will carry us through the season.

Today classes begin and we will now prepare for in-state rival Providence College next Tuesday. The Friars upset Boston College (which was ranked No. 4 at the time) 1-0 on Labor Day so this will just add to the already intense atmosphere that comes with this rivalry. The match - which is scheduled for a 3 PM start on Tuesday September 9th, will air locally on Cox Sports (via tape delay) on September 11th at 7:00 pm. We really hope that all of our local alums and friends will be there to cheers us on!

And don't forget... our HOME OPENER is Friday, September 12th at 7:00 pm at the URI Soccer Complex!

Follow the RAMS at www.gorhody.com and for an inside look at the team/season, check out Kedan's Korner - senior co-captain Kedan Crosby's season-long blog.

GO RAMS!

P.S. Click here to watch Lukasz Tumicz `08 scoring two goals this past weekend as his club Jagellonia Bialystok picked up a 2-0 win!