August 28, 2010

Dear Alumni & Friends,

We had our final scrimmage of the preseason Friday, on a beautiful summer night in front of a nice crowd of friends and family. We took the field against a very good Western New England College squad which has qualified for six consecutive NCAA Division III championships and features several NSCAA All-Americans.

The game certainly had the feel of a preseason game with nervousness and energy on both sides. The first half was a bit of a stalemate but could have favored the Rams if not for a Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) goal from 25 yards out that was called back for a foul. It wasn’t a bad performance, just not one that was up to the expectations of everyone on the home side

The second half was a different story as sophomore forward Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) had a goal and an assist on route to a 3-0 win. Freshmen defender Jon Cloutier (Honolulu, HI) opened up the scoring when he picked up a loose ball just outside the Western New England penalty area and - after beating one player - fired a nice driven shot into the lower right hand corner.

The second goal of the game came by virtue of a penalty shot by Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland), who was tripped up by the WNEC goalkeeper. They say that things come in threes and a short time later, the Rams got their third when sophomore center midfielder Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL) redirected Thomas Lindroos’ driven ball from the end line.

Goalkeepers Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, KS), Anthony Tavares (E. Providence, RI) and Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME) combined for the shutout.

Today, we visited Scarborough Beach for a little recovery workout and soak in the ocean followed by a BBQ lunch at URI President David Dooley’s house. The President and his wife Lynn are big athletic supporters and over the past six months have hosted each of the athletic teams to their house for a meal. It is a great chance for him to meet the team but more importantly for the guys to meet him and to visit their home.

The regular season is just around the corner and so is our match-up with Providence College. The fall opener is THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 2nd at 1:00 PM in Providence. It is the first semi-final match in the inaugural Ocean State Soccer Classic. We hope to see as many alums and friends there as possible as you know this will be a great match-up.

One last thing before I sign off - about my email earlier this spring concerning a possible dinner honoring former URI Coaching legend Geza Henni. As you may know from looking at the schedule, we are playing the University of South Florida on Wednesday, September 29th in Tampa - which happens to be the home of Coach Henni and his son Geza Jr... What I wanted to do was have a dinner the evening before the match where he would be the honored guest. This would include the present team and as many of his former players as possible. We have received interest from several alums including Terry Casey, Lance Klima, Mike Stricklin, Pat Maguire, Lenny Mecurio, Mike Rogers and Joe Tavares. But, to make it worthwhile - as well as allow people time to book airline tickets and hotel rooms (we could get a rate in the hotel the team is staying) and set up a meal - we need firm commitments from anyone and everyone who would attend. This could be a very special event which would include the dinner, and of course attending the game, for a very special man in the twilight of his life... So, please let me know if you would commit to attending by Friday, September 3rd. At that time, if the numbers are good we will make the call on whether it will happen.

Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend…

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C