October 8, 2012

Dear Alums & Friends,


We got the conference schedule off to a great start with a convincing 3-1 win over New England rival the University of Massachusetts here at the URI Soccer Complex. It was the first time being home since playing UNH and only 3rd game on our pitch since the beginning of the season so the guys were excited to be on campus.

After a beautiful afternoon in Kingston the clouds rolled in and the skies opened up with an intense rain shower. It suited us well as we continued the storm at the kick-off, soaking the Minutemen with pressure and creating several good chances in the opening 20 minutes. We broke through in the 36th minute after Ross Morison (Linlithgow, Scotland) took a shot from 18 yards that the UMass GK was unable to hold. Sophomore Michael Casey (Wakefield, RI) scampered in and rebounded the ball for his team leading 5th goal of the season.

After the interval we came out buzzing again with some crisp passing and combination play which had us slicing through the Minutemen defense. In the 71st minute we gave ourselves a cushion on what will be a candidate for our goal of the year.

After an entry pass to Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) 25 yards out, Alan Hernandez (Pearland, TX) overlapped on his left and Joey lifted the ball over the UMass back line and Alan drove a ball across the box where Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) one-timed it for his second goal of 2012.

We put the game out of reach in the 81st minute on a counter where Mike Casey and Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) combined for a nifty 1-2 on the top of the box that Syksey completed by curling it into the side netting. Only a PK on a hand ball in the final 6 seconds spoiled the clean sheet but more importantly it was a win and a great start to the Atlantic 10 season.

The evening turned out to be a wonderful one with our parents tailgating in the Ryan Center lot and Ocean State Youth Soccer on hand for our annual Grassroot Soccer Fundraiser. Even with initial rain that scared away some supporters we raised over $600 for GRS.

Next we turn our attention to our first A10 doubleheader weekend when Temple University comes to town on Friday October 12th at 7:00 pm followed by St. Joe’s on Sunday October 14th at 1:00 pm. It is family weekend here at URI so we hope to see you all here.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C