March 26, 2012

Dear Alumni & Friends,

The spring season is now in full stride as we finally got to our first non-traditional game yesterday. The boy’s have been training hard since getting outside before spring break but they are certainly happy to play against someone else besides themselves.

Our first opponent of the spring was the New England Revolution US Development Academy U18 team. It was a home game of sorts as we played it just up the road at East Greenwich High School. They have a beautiful new turf field facility and we were thankful EG youth soccer and the recreation department for being allowed to use it. The venue was a perfect to begin the spring season as we assumed the URI Soccer Complex wouldn’t be ready. Who figured we’d have had such a mild winter and beautiful weather last week...

Although rain was in the forecast it turned out to be a great day to play. The Revs featured a couple of RI high school standouts as well as a familiar face on their bench in URI alum Jonathon Pereira ’10. JP works coaching for the Revolution in their Academy program. So, it was a bittersweet day for him as his Rams defeated his Revs 2-1.

The first half began well but the hosts got on the board first with a superbly bent ball from 20 yards out to the left of the goal that snuck over freshmen goalkeeper Thomas Spenser (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) into the side netting. It was a beautiful shot and was on the only way it could have happened with Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL) denying other options. Our guy’s created some chances of their own including a couple of nifty combinations that provided crossing opportunities and a rocket from Jon Cloutier (Honolulu, HI) from 35 yards out that hit the upright of the football goal post just over the crossbar. The half ended with the visitors up 1-0.

In the second half the tempo changed for our squad and with that the results followed. Freshmen forward Ross Morison (Linlithgow, Scotland) made an immediate impact in the game when he volleyed home a deflected ball for the equalizer. Morison's goal was set up by classmate Matt Sykes (Nottingham, England) who flicked a ball that skimmed off one of the Revs central defenders, right to the big Scotsman who made the best of the opportunity.

Sykes also had his hand in the game winner as he turned a pass in the central midfield and paced a perfectly timed pass behind the Revs defense on the left side to Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) who slotted it past their goalkeeper and off the far right post for his first of the spring. It was a well-deserved goal as Sykes and Eckmayer had been working on the same connection all afternoon but had received little joy until their last and most important chance. Here is the line-up for the match:

STARTING LINE-UP: Spenser, Cloutier, Gargaro, Hernandez, Dragon, Haught, Sykes, Moran, Tetzlaff, Eckmayer, Casey. Substitutes: Blanchard, Janiszewski, Kuklinski, Lindroos, Morison, Ribbens.

It was a good result and excellent way to begin the spring season. Next week we travel to Albany, NY to face Siena College and old friend Gareth Elliott ’01 and his Saints. Along with the Siena match we will also face Master Football Academy from Canada who is coached by Junior Groves who daughter Jerusalem transferred to URI from the University of Houston this winter to play for Rams women’s coach Mike Needham ’96.

Before I sign off, I have to send along congratulations to URI men’s soccer academic advisor Nicole Poloski and her husband John on the birth of their second child Ryan Roy Polosky. Mother and baby are doing well and big brother Dylan is delighted to have a playmate.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C