October 26, 2009

Dear Alumni & Friends,

It was a good weekend in Amherst in spite of the rain and field conditions. It was better then last Sunday versus Temple and fortunately the result was the same. We went into the weekends match with our A-10 travel partner expecting another typical URI vs UMass battle and it ended up being just that in the end.

As expected UMass is a very good team and we both were looking for a positive result as we jockeyed for a place in the Atlantic 10 standings and the subsequent conference tournament down the road here in Kingston. So, this was an important game for everyone. The match started off with a flurry and it didn't take long for your Rams to get on the board. After a UMass foul on the side of the box, Erkko Puranen (Viitisaari, Finland) served a ball to the back post which looked like it might curl out of bounds. But, Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) got on the end of it, heading back across the goal where Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) redirected in the goal for a 1-0 lead). It was just what we needed and rewarded the guy's for a good start to the game. It was 12 minutes in and we knew that we had a long time to go for it to be over.

In the second half the game went back and forth, mostly played between the 18 yard boxes but none the less both teams threatened. Michael Tanke (Niles, MI) nearly got the insurance goal when he curled a ball which rang the cross bar. UMass put on some added pressure by sticking an additional player up front and earning some dangerous corners but the team stood solid to grind out the win and well deserve shutout against a quality opponent.

If you have seen the A-10 standings as of now, you will notice that this weekend once again becomes a big one for all those involved. So, after a day off yesterday we'll be right back at it to get ready for St. Bonnies and Duquesne this weekend. Both games are doubleheaders with the women's team as they finish off their A-10 schedule. On Friday the women are at 5:00 pm and we play at 7:30 pm and on Sunday the women are at 11:00 am and we kick off at 1:30 pm. Sunday is "Senior Day" so it will add a little more importance to the team then just a "regular" Atlantic 10 match. If you are in the area we hope you can be here for the pre-game ceremony to honor our fourth year team members who will be playing their last regular season match at the URI Soccer Complex.

Before I sign off I just wanted to congratulate Mike Stricklin '77 who was recently voted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame (http://neshof.org/blog/). He will be inducted on Sunday November 1st at 1:00 pm at the Riviera Inn, Providence, RI along with six others including former US Soccer President Hank Steinbrecher, former US National Team Player Janusz Michalik and Boston College Head men's soccer coach Ed Kelly. He is in good company and I know you will all join me a hearty "well done" for Mike...you will represent URI soccer well!

GO RAMS!
Coach O'C