April 17, 2009

It's been a crazy few days here in the URI soccer office between our game on Wednesday night with Holy Cross and getting some distressing news on tax day. As you may or may not have heard, on Wednesday the University of Maine dropped their men's soccer program (as well as women's volleyball). A terrible thing professionally, as a Maine alum and as a close friend of Pat Laughlin the coach who is a former assistant here at URI. We have had to do some scrambling to replace our home game with Maine as well as the games which were supposed to play at Maine's Tournament to open our season. Fortunately we have been able to add Boston College, Binghamton University and arrange to go to Siena College. We unfortunately had to drop the Sacred Heart game to avoid a two week gap in the schedule mid-season but the 2009 schedule is set now and attached.

As you can imagine it I have a heavy heart for a program which fueled my passion for the game and is a part of why I am in this position at URI today. I am terribly disappointed in the administration at the University of Maine for the timing of the decision. Their is no god time to drop intercollegiate sports but as we all know decisions like these are not made overnight. The failure to notify the coaches, players and recruits earlier is un-excusable as far as I am concerned because now these kids are 2 weeks from exams with a slim chance of being able to find a spot on a team via transfer or such. The worse of it all is that Pat Laughlin is without a job come June 30th when his contract expires. No severance pay...no "we will pay you and cover your benefits through December"...NOTHING! No matter what the reasons, you just don't treat people that way. It is very disheartening and has made me re-think my association to an institution which game me so much. Keep Pat and the players at Maine in your thoughts that things will work out. I know we would love to have Pat back here on the Rhody side-lines as a volunteer this fall to keep in the game so don't be surprised if you see him.

Well, as far as the game on Wednesday night we went to Worcester with a small squad of only 14 healthy players. Chris Pennock, Andres Ruiz, Kevin Shaw and Dom Petrarca were nursing injuries while Josh Sousa was sick with the flu. Although the bench was thin, we had a good squad to put out and tremendous chance for players to get in a full 90 minutes of action as we get close to the end of the spring campaign.

The game started out very well for the visitors, as we were able to move the ball and create some good chances. The ball movement paid off when Michael Tanke (Niles, MI), who was just returning from a sickness himself, combined with Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) to dribble through the Crusader central defense and finish a hard low shot into the corner. The lead was short lived as the Crusaders stormed back with two goals of their own on counter attacks which we didn't react to well. The second half showed a renewed spirit and play which produced results when Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) got fouled in the box for a penalty. Jonathan Pereira (Barrington, RI) finished the PK well to equalize the game. Holy Cross kept plugging away and eventually netted the game winner on a free-kick, making the end result 3-2 to the home team.

HOLY CROSS LINE-UP: Warwick (Tavares 60), Zane, Williams, Hutson, LoPresti, Preyss, Crooks, Tanke (Gonsalves), Markman, Balicki (Pereira), Puranen.

Finally, the ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME is only a week away on SATURDAY APRIL 25th at 11:00 am here at the URI Soccer Complex. The following guy's have either committed or told skipper Gareth Elliott they are coming:

Michael Bradley, Dan Brownridge, Aidan Byrne, Ryan Chmielweski, Kedan Crosby, Gareth Elliott, Paul Fanning, Kevin Hamill, Kevin Kennedy, Pat Maguire, Ahmad Manning, Steve Mellen, Andres Perdomo, James Quiah, Dennis Richards, Jesse Simmons, Joe Spofford, Gabe Toro.

If you are not on this list and planning on coming, know someone who is not on this list who is coming or if you THINK you are coming PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know. This includes friends and family as their will be a BBQ following the game which is FREE for all those alumni who attend and $10 per person for friends and family. Donations to help cover the cost of the t-shirts and food are always welcome.

Well, we have our second to last spring game tomorrow at 2:00 pm versus Southern New Hampshire here at the URI Soccer Complex (re-scheduled from the Maine Spring Invite in Cape Elizabeth, ME). If you are in the area then we hope to see you play.

TAKE CARE & GO RHODY!
Coach O'C

April 10, 2009

The week is at and end and it was a busy one. We had three matches this week which made it for a short one. Last weekend we were up to UMass for their spring invitational. We arrived in Amherst a little short in personnel as we still had goalkeepers Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England), Anthony Tavares (E. Proivdence, RI), midfielder Josh Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario), who is back practicing after his ACL surgery, nursing previous injuries as well as Michael Tanke (Niles, MI) and Dom Petrarca (Providence, RI) who were now part of the walking wounded. Add to that Franco LoPresti (Whitby, Ontario) who was feeling under the weather and we had a very small bench. But, like any good team we used the weekend well, earning a 1-0 win over Army on a Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) goal, assisted by Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) as well as a 0-0 draw with the host in a classic A-10 battle. The weather was quite windy and cold and the UM practice field bumpy (which some say they planned...LOL) but I was happy in the end with how we handled it all.

ARMY LINE-UP: Warwick, McCormick, Williams, Hutson, Zane, Crooks, Shaw, Ruiz, Markman, Balicki, (Sousa), Puranen (Pereira)

UMASS LINE-UP: Warwick, McCormick (Zane), Zane (Hutson), Williams, Preyss, Markman (Sousa), Shaw, Ruiz (Crooks), Pereira, Balicki, Puranen (Pereira).

Training was light for Monday and Tuesday as we headed in Bryant College on Wednesday night for a 7:00 pm tilt on their field turf. We were nearly back to full strength (minus Dom Petrarca and Anthony Tavares who should be back next week) so it was be a good chance to see the nearly the whole squad operating. The pace of the game was a little crazy in the first of three 30 minute periods and we were spared relinquishing a goal only by a fantastic diving stop by Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, KS) down to his right. The field was long (120 yards) but narrow (65 yards) but the guy's adjusted and managed to get on track in latter parts of that period getting goals in quick succession. The first on a nifty back heel assist from Michael Tanke to Andres Ruiz on a one touch finish after Michael beat a player in the box. The second started from a Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) corner to the back post where Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) headed it across to Errko Puranen (Viitassari, Finland) who nodded it in. It was great for Erkko as his parents and 3 sisters were here in the states visiting for the week. We almost got a third when Ruiz was through on a breakaway and just barely missed chipping it over a sliding Bryant goalkeeper.

The game the rest of the way was a bit of a pin pong match but the squad got good chances out of Jonathan Pereira (Barrington, RI), Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) as well as Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA). In the final 15 minutes of the game Josh Gonsalves got on for his first action in Rhody Blue after being cleared for full contact a few days earlier. He has a bit of catching up to do but it was nice to have the big man on the field.

BRYANT LINE-UP: Warwick, LoPresti, Williams, Hutson, Zane, Tanke (Markman), Crooks (Preyss), Shaw, Ruiz (Crooks, Gonsalves), Balicki (Sousa), Puranen (Pereira)

Don't forget to RSVP about the ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME on SATURDAY APRIL 25th at 11:00 am at the URI Soccer Complex. Following the game their will be a BBQ which is FREE for all alumni and $10 per person for friends and family. Donations to help cover the cost of the t-shirts and food are always welcome. Please RSVP with your t-shirt size and that you are coming (as well as significant others in attendance) so we have enough food. The t-shirt size ordering deadline is Friday April 17th. After that there is no guarantee for the correct size or a shirt so make sure you let me know...

I am proud to say during this Easter season we are ecstatic to announce that the team recently raised $1,000 in our winter "Juggle-a-thon" of which ALL proceeds will be donated towards a fund to help URI's all-time leading scorer Andy Williams '98 (Kingston, Jamaica) wife's Marcia fight with cancer. As many of you know already Marcia is in need of a bone marrow transplant and we just hope that this small gesture will help. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andy and we invite you to again join us in supporting their fight. You can get more information on how you can donate by visiting the RSL website.

As we head into the final two weeks of the spring season we are looking forward to our last three games. First, this Wednesday April 15th in Worcester, MA versus the Holy Cross Crusaders at 7:00 pm and then home in Kingston versus Southern New Hampshire at 2:00 pm on Saturday April 18th. The second match is a CHANGE as Maine had to cancel their invitation in Cape Elizabeth, ME due to lack of players from injury. We will then get plenty of rest in preparation for the MOST IMPORTANT GAME OF THE SPRING versus the alumni on the 25th to finish things up. We hope you can join us.

From my family and the URI soccer family we wish you all a Happy Easter!

GO RAMS!
Coach O'C

April 2, 2009

Sorry for the late e-mail concerning the first spring weekend but the flu is going through our house (i.e. Sheila had it) so I've been trying to catch up since the onslaught and recovery. Being Mr. Mom is TOUGH!

This past weekend we had a our first match at Northeastern University and it started with a bang...literally. In warm-ups sophomore Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) managed to shatter a window in the NU team building which was located behind the goal. The Huskies coach Brian Ainscough was actually grateful as he has been asking NU for a net system behind that goal so Gregs fuax pas added fuel to the fire as far as he was concerned.

The game too got off to a great start with the first 30 minutes being an impressive one for our boy's. We put a good amount of pressure on NU creating chances from Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) on a great pass over the top from Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) which he used to almost chip the goalie. We got another couple of good chances off of interceptions by Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) who was all over the place on the afternoon. The back four which included two new faces in Eric Hutston (St. Louis, MO) and Franco LoPresti (Whitby, Ontario) were solid in front of Peyton Warwick (Kansas City, KS) who had little to do in the first 45 minutes.

In the second stanza Northeastern changed their tactics a bit, playing very direct which caused some problems for our defense as they threatened the goal a few times. Rhody still generated some chances of their own including a ball cleared off the line by an NU defender, one that hit the post and a bicycle kick by Greg Balicki off of service from Reece Markman (Dallas, TX). In the end neither team could crack the seal and the match ended 0-0.

STARTING LINE-UP: Warwick, Petrarca, Williams, Hutson (Zane), LoPresti (McCormick), Tanke (Markman), Shaw, Ruiz, Crooks (Preyss), Puranen (Pereira), Balicki (Sousa).

The Saturday we head to Amherst, Massachusetts for the UMass Spring Invitational. We kick off at 12 Noon against Army and follow up with our second 70 minute game with the host Minutemen at approximately 2:30 pm. If you are in the area or are keen for a ride to Western, MA we hope to see you there.

Before I sign off just a quick reminder about the ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME on SATURDAY APRIL 25th at 11:00 am at the URI Soccer Complex. Following the game their will be a BBQ. The event is FREE for all those alumni who attend and $10 per person for friends and family. Donations to help cover the cost of the t-shirts and food are always welcome. Alumni are ask to RSVP with their t-shirt size (and significant others attending) so we have enough food and such. The t-shirt deadline is Friday April 17th. After that there is no guarantee for the correct size or a shirt so make sure you let me know...

Hope you will all be able to make it out to one of our spring games as well as the Alumni Game. The remaining spring schedule is as such:

April 3
@UMASS SPRING INVITATIONAL
12 Noon v Army
2:30 pm v UMass

April 8
@Bryant College, 7:00 pm

April 15
@Holy Cross, 7:00 pm

April 18
@MAINE SPRING INVITE
12:45 pm v Southern New Hampshire
2:00 pm v Maine

TAKE CARE & GO RHODY!