September 26, 2011

Dear Alums & Friends,

Dickens wrote in a Tales of Two Cities “It was best of times, it was the worst of times” and it was for us...sort of. Big weekend here on campus with our Grassroot Soccer Fundraiser game on Friday versus Boston College and Sunday match with Ivy League foe Yale was something we were really looking forward during training the week before. The games certainly didn’t turn out the way hoped but we will take something from each match in preparation for the conference season.

On Friday BC came to town with a #10 national ranking having lost to now #1 UConn in their previous game. It was a rainy night with the match kicking off on time following the URI women’s drubbing Iona 5-0 in the front end of the doubleheader. Unfortunately, we were behind quickly with the Eagles scoring on a corner just 2 minutes into the game. But from there it it seemed to be all Rams.

With the weather and periodic downpours the crowd was thinner then expected which was a bummer for what was hoped for our annual Grassroot Soccer night. Those who were there stayed glued to their seats as the boy’s put on a great show. Besides a couple of pieces where the Eagles kept the ball, our Rams dominated, out cornering BC 5-2 and outshooting them 16-9 (12-3 shots on goal) that included limiting them to 1 shot in the second 45 minutes. We had some great chances including a sequence where Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) redirected a Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) cross that hit the crossbar, had the rebound headed off the post and subsequent shot saved. Credit goes where credit is due as the BC goalkeeper Justin Luthy made several game saving stops including a Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) redirect and Trevor Moran (Wilbraham, MA) rocket from the top of the box. We thought we had the game tying tally when Sykes hit blast of a free kick that Luthy turned around the post. The games stayed 1-0 for the Eagles but it was a great performance and showed how we can and will play down the stretch.

The real winner in the game was Grassroot Soccer (www.grassrootsoccer.org) who, in spite of the rain, will garner a nice donation through t-shirt sales by the boy’s and the dollars given at the gate. A few of the guy’s are still in the process of collecting from t-shirt sales so when we get the final tally we will let you know. Special thanks to Assistant Chris Pennock for coordinating the effort, our Rams FC parents for manning the collection bins and Jackie University Spirit in the Kingston Emporium for their help with our t-shirts.

For what ever reason the Sunday game versus Yale University had a bit of a hangover feel to it. It was not from lack of effort but possibly from mental sharpness which will be a lesson learned as we go into doubleheader weekend games in the league. The guy’s never really got a into the rhythm like the Friday game and we were down quickly 2-0. We pulled one back when Franco LoPresti (Markham, Ontario) was yanked down on a free kick for a penalty and Joey Haught converted to make it 2-1. A 70th minute goal by Yale gave them a cushion and there was no joy in Mudville or Kingston...

Well, from here we actually have a two week break until Atlantic 10 10 Conference play begins. Due to the NCAA adding an additional week on the front end of the season in April, we couldn’t find a game for this weekend. So, we do have Franco LoPresti’s as well as Jeff Gonsalves ‘07 former club team Winstars Academy coming to Kingston for an international friendly on Saturday October 1st a 11:00 am. The following weekend, October 7-9, we open up with an A10 doubleheader weekend when we host St. Louis on Friday night at 7:00 pm and UNC-Charlotte on Sunday at 1:00 pm. It always is a good weekend of soccer and encourage you to get out and see the boy’s play.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C