November 14, 2009

Dear Alums & Friends,

It was a great run but it all ended too abruptly on a free kick by A-10 Defender of the Year Tim Ream with three minutes to go in the Atlantic 10 Semi-final versus St. Louis University. It was a heartbreaker as we fought back twice from 1 goal deficits and even generated two quality chances in the final ticks of the match. Until the final whistle sounded I thought we had it but it wasn't to be in Kingston.

Thursday night it was windy and cold but the URI students and Rhody faithful were out in droves to see the second quarterfinal match versus #18 Charlotte. The game started with a furious pace as Charlotte was flying around the field. The mayhem paid off as the 49ers drew first blood when a deflection off of one of our own found their feet and a 1-0 lead. Charlotte kept up the pressure and we did well to absorb the pressure as well as some outstanding saves from Chris Pennock (Spennymoor, England) as well as a goal saved off the line (his first of two on the weekend) by Michael Tanke (Niles, MI). We were on the ropes a bit like a boxer but did the famous Mohammed Ali "Rope a Dope" and wouldn't go down, getting into half just one goal down.

The second half was a different story as we got the wind and some momentum going our way. In the 67th minute freshmen forward Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) tracked down a ball behind the Charlotte defense and drove a ball to the back post where junior Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) headed a laser beam past the 49er goalkeeper to knot it at one. The celebration, which can be seen here, is one for the ages as Greg runs to the sideline and tackles Rhody the Ram in front of the frenzied crowd of supporters. Both teams traded blows the rest of the way but Pennock and the Ram back four held tight.

Overtime came and again both teams traded chances but I think in everyone's mind we knew that this would be decided a the spot. In the shoot-out it didn't take long for your Rams to get out on top thanks to a Chris Pennock save on the second UNCC shooter. Our next guy unfortunately missed bringing the tally back even again. We traded successful goals in the next round but another break as the 49ers next kicker (their #10) hit the crossbar opening the door for the home squad. Our #10 Jon Pereira (Barrington, RI) drilled his home followed by UNCC's 5th kicker scoring and it was up to Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) who calmly put his home to send us into the semi-final against #2 seed St. Louis University. After a quick soak in the pool and some food following the game, we had to get on to the next task. Classes on Friday would keep us busy during the day but I have a feeling the players were thinking about everything but books.

The semi-final began again not as we planned with SLU getting on the board in the 10th minute. But the boy's plugged away and final found the net when Domenic Petrarca (Johnston, RI) volleyed a ball past the Billiken GK after a Andres Ruiz cross and Erkko Puranen (Viitisaari, Finland) flick on. We knew it would be a quite a game as SLU responded two minutes later on an unassisted goal off a long punt which got behind the defense putting the score 2-1 going into half-time.

The second half which has been our best time all year proved to be it again as we knocked on the door several times early including some great combinations with sophomore defender Eric Hutson (St. Charles, MO) who had come on in the game for an injured Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL). Goalkeeper Chris Pennock was on the top of his game throughout the weekend, making 2 or 3 key saves with the help of classmate Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) who has been the difference in the back line since he moved from the midfield.

The team kept grinding away and it all paid off when senior midfielder Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) slipped a great pass to Erkko Puranen who scored from an angle with a defender on his hip and the goalkeeper rushing out of the goal. It was a class finish and one which excited the Rhody faithful. The game continued at a furious pace and although fatigue from Friday nights overtime with Charlotte we knew it was going to take something special to win it and unfortunately SLU got it on a hard hit direct free kick which dove and curled into the side netting past a diving Pennock.

I will say that although we are all disappointed everything was put into perspective after I got a nice e-mail from Aidan Byrne '99. He said "I was at the game tonight and was proud of the Rhody performance. I know it was not the result we all wanted but the guys never gave up." I think that says if all about this team and their performance over the second half of the season, going 6-2-1 down the stretch to earn the 4th seed in the A10 Tournament. It was a sad end for our seniors Kevin, Gary, Dom and Chris but I as I told them and the team, I was never so proud as to see them perform at the level they did when it counted. They played with Rhody Pride in the manner which befitted there ability.

Before I sign off it was great to see a lot of our alums at the games including Simon Gatti (who just won a USL Championship with the Montreal Impact), Anthony and David Ward-Smith, Gareth Elliott, Kevin Kennedy, Brian Bradley, Steve Froberg, Terry Casey, Dennis Richards, Mike Rogers and Dawid Badecki who flew in from Poland for the Championships. Thanks so much for your support.

It will be hard to watch the Atlantic 10 Final tomorrow as we wish we were the ones playing. I'm sure after a few days of decompression we will look back at the special moments of the 2009 season. We have a lot to look forward to and I know the boy's will be back hard at work this winter and spring in preparation for their next chance at an Atlantic 10 Championship. My sincere thanks to all our alums an supporters who have been with us all season and particularly this weekend when the conditions would often scare people away. It says a lot about what this program means to them and I look forward to keeping the standard at the level we are all accustom.

GO RHODY!
Coach O'C

November 9, 2009

Alums & Friends,

It was a busy but productive weekend and today the guy's are on their day off waiting for the Atlantic 10 Championships which begin Thursday here at the URI Soccer Complex. Going into Friday's match at George Washington we knew that if we win on the weekend we are in and the guy's were very focused. It didn't hurt that we had a huge contingent of family and alums there at the game to support us. In addition to our alums the Tanke's, Eckmayers, Petrarca's, Preyss's and Robby Gargaro's dad were there to cheer us on as well as an alum of mine from Chicago, some coaching friends from nearby Georgetown and my college teammate David LaPrise who is a huge supporter of ours. It was unbelievable!

The game was a big one for both teams as GW was still alive for a berth in the A-10 Championships. They started out well when their Herman Trophy watch list player Andy Stadler scored his 10th goal of the season just 15 minutes or so into the match. But, I saw something in the players that I haven't as of yet when we conceded a goal...they got mad! It was like an old coaching friend of mine Tim Schmiechen (Beloit College) said to me when I was at Chicago and they scored against us (we ended up winning 5-1)..."it was like poking a bear". The guy's responded well and turned it up a notch and it paid off when we got two in a span of less then 3 minutes. The first in the 41st minute when Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) volleyed the equalizer in after mis-cleared free kick and the second in the 43rd minute on a Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) header off a corner from Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland). It took the wind out of the Colonials sails and we were on our way. We stretched the lead to 3-1 on Andres second goal of the game on a direct free kick and capped it with a Jaime Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) tap in on assists from Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) and Franco LoPresti (Scarborough, Ontario). Our win combined with a Temple loss assured of a spot in the A-10 tourney. It was great.

Thanks so much to Joe Spofford, BJ Kochis, Kevin Algozer, Jeff Gonzalves, Kevin Hamill, DJ Burns, Matt Moriarty, Joel Dargan and others too many to name (sorry if I forgot anyone) who traveled to be there, sang and supported us. It meant a lot to me and the players for sure.

Friday night we travelled down to Richmond to get ready for the final game of the season and a chance to improve our ranking for the Atlantic 10 Championships. The guy's were in great spirits (rightly so) and we were treated to an impromptu "beat box" performance by Franco LoPresti on Saturday night for a group of young ladies from Virginia Commonwealth University who were at the Olive Garden with us celebrating their friends birthday. Rumor is that it WILL be posted on youtube.com soon. It is a classic!

Sundays game was played on a beautiful field at Ukrop Park in Richmond (UR is building a brand new stadium) under sunny skies and 75 degrees. It was senior day for the Spiders but we picked up where we left off attacking from the start. Thomas Lindroos earned a penalty in the 4th minute of play but unfortunately had it saved. But, 6 minutes later Dwayne "Bock" Williams tallied his second goal of the weekend off a Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) corner. The game stayed tied through the half although statistically we had the edge in all departments. We were cautious with Richmond as they were the only team to blemish the record of regular seasons champs and #1 seeded Dayton so things kept tight. We got a couple of good chances which would have been nice to capitalize on and finally got the insurance goal in the 87th minute when freshmen Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL) slipped a pass to Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) for the nail in the coffin. it was Matts first career point and a good one. Our goal was to get a minimum of 6 wins in the conference and it was mission accomplished.

Now the second season begins this week with the programs seventh consecutive appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championships. We go in as the 4th seed and will play UNC-Charlotte at 7:30 pm on Thursday night. The opener at 5:00 pm pits Fordham (#3 seed) versus St. Bonaventure (#6 seed) with Dayton (#1) and St. Louis (#2) waiting in the wings. The semi-finals will be on Friday at the same time with the final on Sunday at 1:00 pm.

We are excited about hosting the championships and thank Athletic Director Thorr Bjorn and Senior Women's Administrator Sue Bergren for making it even more special by supporting the purchase of new bench shelter/awnings (see attached photo). They were put up over the weekend and look fantastic! It's the first phase in our improvements to the URI soccer complex (the next is a scorer's booth) and will add to the already beautiful facility we have to host the championships.

Hope we see you out at the games as we would love to see you supporting us in our quest for the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship.

GO RAMS!
Coach O'C