November 18, 2008

The season came to an abrupt end Thursday night with a 3-2 loss to eventual Atlantic 10 Tournament Champion University of Dayton... I wish, for the boys, that it had continued longer. It was a heck of a game, very entertaining to watch as both teams fought for the prize of the championship and NCAA automatic bid. We just ended up on the short end of the stick.

The boys started the game very well - motivated, focused and organized. Their preparation paid off in the ninth minute when first-year forward Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) took a pass from his fourth-year striking partner Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) and got through the Dayton defense, scoring a classy bending goal around the Flyers' goalkeeper. The game would prove to be a teeter-totter affair as Dayton equalized at the 20 minute mark and then went ahead just before the half on a PK - after some confusion around the top of the box between one of the center backs and goalkeeper Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, KS) who was filling in for Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) who was still not at full strength with a hip injury.

At half-time we regrouped and sorted out our challenges, coming out of the locker room with great energy and passion. The momentum of the game moved back and forth and just when things seemed to settle down the Finnish Sniper struck again. This time after a cross by Matt Pryess (Chagrin Falls, OH) found Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) who fed it to Erkko, which has he has done 8 previous times, scored to tie the game at 2-2. But, as statistics in soccer have shown, the most dangerous times are the 5 minutes after a scored or conceded goal. This proved true as just 31 seconds later after a dubious foul call, A-10 Tournament MVP Florian DeCamps - the Flyers 6'5" forward - got his head on a ball served in the box, breaking the stalemate again. The guy's did not give up and had the run of play in the last 20 minutes getting good chances from Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA), Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) and Andres Ruiz (Providence , RI) which were saved or just missed. It was not until a shot over the bar with 10 seconds to go that the game did not seem winnable. But, it was not to be.

Disappointed, yes... proud, yes sir! You would have been very happy of how hard the team played, in true Rhody style. Even in loss, there are a lot of great things to take out of the season. Our goal was always to make the A-10 tournament, which we accomplished. We found a bon-a-fide scorer to follow in the footsteps of great URI snipers such as Mercurio, McCrudden, Williams, McCreath, Crocker, Collis, Elliott, Henni, Gotsmanov and Gonsalves in freshmen Erkko Puranen, who was voted a member of the 2008 Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Team. He will only get better with time. Our young players got tremendous experience and most importantly the team represented URI the way we all wanted, with class and dignity even in defeat.

As we move into the holidays and the off-season we say good-bye to seniors Kedan Crosby, Kevin Hamill (Easton, CT), Andres Perdomo (Pawtucket, RI) and James Quiah (Providence, RI). I can't say enough about them and the different roles they each played in the success of the program this season and during their careers. We are excited about next season's incoming class, which is ready to follow in the shadows of the Class of 2009. You'll get to know more about them soon but trust that they will look good in Rhody Blue!

Well, that is about it for now. Here is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll be in touch after the holiday about the team banquet in January as well as to update you on all the URI news.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE SEASON!

GO RHODY!
Coach O'C

November 10, 2008

Well, I promised more details on a weekend that was filled with ups and downs. Luckily the downs were sandwiched by the ups. We had an exciting overtime win on Friday, a disappointing loss on Sunday and then found out that we had secured the 6th seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament following the game so we were up again. I have to say we are thankful as we got a little help with the A-10's from some other teams and results but with that said we are glad to be able to keep playing!

Going into the weekend, we knew that we held our fate in our hands as two wins would guarantee us a spot. But this would be a tall task as coming to town were two very good teams in the form of Charlotte and Saint Louis.

On Friday, Charlotte came to town looking to secure its own place in the A-10 tournament. For those who were there, the game was an exciting one - an epic battle. We started the game out very well, seemingly catching the 49ers with a little jet lag or maybe adjusting to the long and wet grass of the northeast fall. Either way the guy's were buzzing and their hard work paid off when Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) got behind the Charlotte defense and drove a ball back across the box were Andres Perdomo (Pawtucket, R.I.) connected for his first goal of the year. The 49ers came back and equalized with a header that just eluded the fingertips of goalkeeper Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, Kansas) who was filling in for regular starter Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) who was injured in training the day before.

We went into the half tied 1-1 but we came out with a flurry. In the second stanza, we came out firing but the game stayed that way through regulation. Charlotte had some good looks at the goal but was kept off the board thanks to some timely saves by Peyton Warwick. In the second overtime, our chance came when after a cross by Domenic Petrarca (Providence, R.I.) was cleared, freshmen midfielder Reece Markman (Dallas, Texas) collected the ball and drove a ball across the box where Kedan Crosby calmly let the ball run through his legs and healed it under the 49ers goalkeeper for the win. We had done our job for the night but we still had some important business ahead of us.

On Saturday, we had a light workout and a swim to loosen up the muscles from our seventh overtime game of the year. Saint Louis, who was coming to town on Sunday for the final regular season game of the year, had just had their own overtime game at UMass, that they lost 2-1. So, SLU had their backs against the wall too as a loss to us meant that they could be out of the A-10 tournament for the first time since they joined the league. It made for a very interesting storyline...

Sunday was a bright and beautiful day as we honored our four seniors prior to the beginning of the match. Kedan Crosby, Kevin Hamill (Easton, Conn.), Andres Perdomo and James Quiah (Providence, R.I.) were all playing their last regular season home games at the URI Soccer Complex. As always, it is a pretty emotional day for me but the boys were ready to get the game going.

However, if we had known what the outcome was going to be beforehand, we might not have been as eager to start. A good Saint Louis team dominated us from start to finish scoring 4 of their 5 goals on re-starts. To be on the short end of a 5-0 score on Senior Day was definitely not what we wanted but our disappointment soon turned to elation as we discovered through Assistant Sport Communications Director Jodi Pontbriand that a 1-0 Charlotte loss to UMass coupled with the 2-1 upset of George Washington by St. Bonaventure had given us the 6th seed in the A-10 Tournament. We had another chance to keep playing and prove to ourselves that Sunday's performance was not a reflection of the capabilities of the this team.

Now we are preparing to head off to Pittsburgh, Pa. where Duquesne University is hosting this years' tournament. We will face 3rd seeded Dayton which looked to be the run away winner of the regular season title, until late losses to Temple and Xavier spoiled it for them. They are a talented team which we beat in the regular season in 2007 on a spectacular flying side volley by Red Bull New York player Danleigh Borman '08 with about 3 minutes to go. We have our work cut out for us but we are excited to have the opportunity to compete for the A-10 Tournament title again.

Before I sign off, congratulations goes out to both Geoff Cameron and Danleigh Borman who have been working towards an MLS Championship. Geoff was recently named one of the three finalists for Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year. Danleigh's NY Red Bulls and Geoff's Houston Dynamo also played against each other in the first round of the playoffs with the Red Bull upsetting the two-time defending champs 4-1 on aggregate. Geoff is also up for Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Year... CLICK HERE to vote for him!

In one of the other MLS quarterfinal, former URI Ram and all-time leader in points Andy Williams came on as a substitute in the 80th minute for Real Salt Lake to help them secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Well, that's about it from here. Keep an eye out for the results through www.gorhody.com and if you are in or around Pittsburgh we would love to see you come out and support the team!

GO RAMS!
Coach O'C

November 3, 2008

Well, we are still in the hunt for the A-10 Tournament after splitting the weekend in New York and Philadelphia. We were hoping to come away with two wins but we were on the good and bad end of 1-0 scores.

On Friday night in the Bronx, we came up against a tough Fordham team who, like us, was fighting for a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship. So, the table was set for a hard competitive match. The first half was a little of a seesaw battle and as it progressed we seemed to be getting our rhythm and some chances but could never get too close. Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) got behind the other Rams' defense dangerously a couple of times and we just nearly missed a driven cross that went through the box. And then - as of late - the worst thing happened... halftime came.

Fordham came roaring out and we were suddenly under siege in a very direct style of soccer. Goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) was called upon to make three outstanding saves to keep us in it. On the attacking side, we got very few chances - mostly coming from midfielder Kevin Hamill (Easton CT) - but other than that we had a tough time generating any attack in a game that was basically played from one 18-yard box to the other. Fordham kept coming and eventually their midfielder crossed a ball that a Fordham forward just barely headed away from Pennock, and ever so slowly found its' way behind, lightly off the post and in... with 3 minutes to go. If was a difficult pill to swallow, particularly in that we weren't able to muster any good chances ourselves.

Saturday we travelled to Philadelphia and were tempted to drop in on the Meadowlands in NJ to catch the MLS playoffs which featured former Rams Geoff Cameron of the Houston Dynamo and Danleigh Borman of New York Red Bull. By the way, the match was a draw with the second leg being in Houston this week. But, we had to get to the "City of Brotherly Love" to get used to the surface at La Salle which was only 66 yards wide but 120 yards long. Sunday couldn't have come any sooner after the team had a heart-to-heart on Saturday night. We boys were up and ready to go, partially because of the change in day light savings time and the need to get out there and prove themselves to get back in the A-10 hunt.

As any team in the league will tell you, La Salle is a tough place to play and their record was in no way indicative of their abilities as they had beat Charlotte earlier in the season. The game was an entertaining one which saw both teams getting at it from the start. It was senior day for the Explorers so emotion was on their side. But, our resounding need to get things back on track was in our minds and hearts. We got some great performances out of central midfielders Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) and Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) who locked down the midfield. The effort paid off midway through the second half as freshmen midfielder Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) took a feed from Domenic Petrarca (Providence, RI) and hammered a shot from the right side of the box into the left side netting that the goalkeeper never moved for... 1-0 Rams!

After withstanding a little pressure and getting another great save from Chris Pennock, we nearly made in 2-0 in the waning minutes when Errko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) went through and got around the LU goalkeeper but ran out of field while trying to deposit it in an empty net. It proved not to be needed as the game ended without change.

Now, the big test comes this weekend when Charlotte and Saint Louis come to town for the last regular season games of the year. The A-10 tournament is still in reach and I believe if we stay together we can get there. Sunday will be an emotional game as it is senior day where we will honor our seniors Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad), Kevin Hamill (Easton, CT), Andres Perdomo (Pawtucket, RI) and James Quiah (Providence, RI) who will be playing their last games...at least at home! Hope anyone who is around will come by and cheer us on in the all important weekend!

GO RAMS!