August 26, 2010

Dear Alumni & Friends,

Hope your summer has been going well and you’ve taken advantage of the season to its’ fullest. Sorry for not being in touch for a bit but I’ve switched over to a new computer and just recently got my email lists transferred. Well we are officially finished with week one of pre-season today and I can say that I’m very happy with what I’ve seen so far in training. We have a great group of returners and our newcomers, who come from all over, have integrated themselves in very well.

We’ve had some great practices in spite of the incredible amount of rain that we have had over the past few days. It has helped the practice field (which is pretty hard) and in turn the guys' legs have been saved a bit. The pre-season has been very productive on many fronts, starting with some team building and leadership training led by Assistant Coach Mitch Stone’s father Greg. Greg is the former Dean of Students at Castleton State College and was a Student Development professional for over 35 years until he retired this past June. I was fortunate enough to work for Greg and his wife Lil as an undergraduate RA, graduate student hall director and then professional residence hall director. I have always held Greg in high regard for his knowledge of leadership development. We had a good couple of days with him and the boys learned a lot about themselves and each other.

The other special event the guys were treated to was a dinner held by Trish & Terry Casey at their home in Wakefield, RI. Terry is a former URI player (1985 grad) and Trish is a URI alum and now Assistant Controller for the University. They are tremendous supporters and friends of our program and were kind enough to have the team as well as some other friends of the program along including Dean of the Business School Mark Higgins and his wife, the Pesante family, Trish’s sister and husband as well as Bob & Anne Kuklinski, parents of Parker Kuklinski ‘14.

Anyway, this past Monday we had our first scrimmage versus UNH and were on the positive end of at 2-1 score. Senior co-captain Matt Preyss (Chagrin Falls, OH) opened up the scoring in the first half off assists from classmate Jon Pereira (Barrington, RI) and Tom Palmer (Hummelstown, PA) off a corner. After a slow start, the guys got ahold of the game and created a number of good chances throughout the match - including a near header goal by Franco LoPresti (Scarborough, Ontario).

The second half was a great build up and a switch of play resulted in our second goal scored by sophomore forward Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland). He was set up by a very decisive pass played across the face of the Wildcat goal by sophomore midfielder Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL). It was great timing all around and Thomas slid in and smashed it home.

In the later stages of the half, New Hampshire mounted a couple of good chances including a semi-breakaway that was snuffed out by sophomore goalkeeper Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME). UNH finally got on the board with a goal of their its with less than 10 seconds remaining but it was too little, too late for the visitors.

We play our final exhibition game of the pre-season on Friday August 27th at 7:00 pm against University of Western New England here at the URI soccer complex. Following that we taper down our workouts and get ready for the regular season opener on Thursday September 2nd at 1:00 pm versus Providence College in the first round of the Ocean State Soccer Classic. The home opener is Saturday September 18th at 7:00 pm pitting your Rams against former URI standout Gareth Elliott ‘02 and his Siena College Saints in our Second Annual Grassroot Soccer fundraiser game. You can see the remainder of the schedule at http://www.gorhody.com.

Before I sign off, some quick news from the alumni front. Hopefully you all got to see Geoff Cameron ‘08 make his first start back for the Houston Dynamo versus the New England Revolution after injuring his PCL at the beginning of the Major League Soccer season. Many of us who saw the game thought he had a great match in the loss and looked so strong and comfortable. Our other MLSer Danleigh Borman ‘08 has a couple of new teammates at New York Red Bull as the club signed both French International Thierry Henry and his former FC Barcelona teammate Rafael Marquez. I can imagine that the training sessions must be unbelievable and can’t wait to hear from DB about them. Former URI captain Callum Bissett ‘08 is returning to Kingston to pursue a Masters Degree. We are excited to have him back where we will get him involved in the program in some capacity. Speaking of returning to Kingston, you will notice a familiar name on the roster as Chris Pennock ‘10 has joined the Rhody staff as a volunteer coach. Got a nice email from Vince McCrudden ‘83 with his best wishes as well as let me know he is moving to China for a year or so for business. I’m sure you all join me in wishing him safe travels. Finally, got a visit from Joe Spofford’ 07 last weekend as he was in RI visiting friends. He is working for the United Way in DC and continues to play on a couple of teams around Washington.

Last but not least keep your eyes peeled for a “Meet & Greet” alumni event graciously sponsored by Chris Simon and Charlie O’s Tavern in Narragansett. It will be a great chance for you all to meet the 2010 team as well as catch up with your former teammates and friends. We are presently working on a date and will let you know the details as soon as we can. Take care and we hope to see you soon…

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

P.S. Check out senior midfielders Michael Tanke’s blog called “Tuesdays with Tanke”. You can see the first installment as well the all his rants during the season at www.gorhody.com.

May 24, 2010

Dear Alums,

Yesterday was graduation so campus will be pretty quite for a bit before summer school begins as well as the other things happening on campus like conferences and camps. For us here in the soccer office it is a good time to get some busy work done before we hit the road for recruiting as well as camps this summer.

Later this week we will be announcing our 2010 schedule that includes the NEWLY ESTABLISHED Ocean State Soccer Classic that will pit Providence, Brown, Bryant and ourselves in an intra-state tourney to kick off the season. This fall we will play matches against seven teams who participated in the 2009 NCAA Championships with one of our non-conference highlights being a game at the University of South Florida on Wednesday September 29th. USF was one of the top teams in the Big East last season and will be a tremendous challenge for us. The wonderful thing about this game is that USF is located in Tampa, FL, now the home of URI coaching legend Geza Henni.

As many of you are aware, one of my goals since coming to URI four seasons ago was to find a way to honor Geza for his long time service to URI men’s soccer. We have tried to get him to return to Kingston but he just not up making the trip as he is now in his 80’s. So, I would like to get some feedback on an idea my Assistant Mitch Stone came up with just recently.

What we propose is to put together a dinner in Tampa in honor of Geza the night before the game at USF which would be Tuesday September 28th. Our vision would be a reception and dinner followed by an opportunity for players from different eras speak about Geza, recalling memories of their experience playing for him. We would certainly give Geza a chance to speak too and would finish the night with a slide show and presentation of a gift (or gifts) to Coach Henni. It would be a great chance for former players and friends to come together and celebrate his contributions to University of Rhode Island soccer.

The next evening it would be great for those who are still in FL to attend the game and root on the Rams but if not then we certainly understand as being there for Geza is much more important to me at this point.

So, what do you think? I do realize this is midweek but this opportunity is just too great to pass up. I have run it by a couple of guys including Mike Stricklin and he believes that we can get a great turnout. If you would be willing to make the trip, then please email me to let me know. If you have any ideas about a gift or gifts for him then drop me a line too. I would love for it to be something significant and long lasting so keep that in mind…

Hope to hear from all of you soon,
OC

April 19, 2010

Dear Alums & Friends of URI Soccer,

I apologize if I am duplicating this email (or information) to you but it came to my attention this weekend that some of our Friends & Alumni may not be getting my last few correspondences. A few months ago we began using a new web based recruiting and database management system called "Front Rush". We are excited about it as not only can we use it in keeping organized in contact with prospective student-athletes but also the current team and our Alums & Friends. It seems that there may be some glitches in our set up and the some of you may not be receiving our correspondences (i.e. they are going to your email spam folder). We are working on correcting them but until then wanted to drop you some important information concerning the Annual Alumni Game and end of the year Team Banquet.

The ALUMNI GAME is less than a week away and will be played on SUNDAY APRIL 25th at NOON. It was originally scheduled for Saturday May 1st but we had to move it due to rules concerning the end date for our non-traditional season (that must be a week before reading period begins). I hope this will not be a problem as we look forward to having our former players back on campus for what is always a competitive game. All alums and friends plus their families and significant others are welcome and it will be followed a BBQ. PLEASE RSVP to me at joconnor@mail.uri.edu by Friday April 23rd so we can make sure we have enough t-shirts for those playing and food for everyone in attendance.

We also extend you an invitation to our end of the year TEAM BANQUET ON SATURDAY MAY 1ST at 12 Noon at the Institute for International Sport (formerly the International Student-Athlete Hall of Fame) which is located off Route 138 just adjacent to the Boss Ice Arena. The event includes a luncheon followed by the teams awards ceremony and end of season highlight video. Tickets are just $10.00 per person. Donations to support the banquet by those who can't attend are always welcome. To RSVP please email Assistant Coach Mitch Stone at stone@mail.uri.edu to reserve your place.

Take care and I hope to see you next weekend,
Coach O'C

March 26, 2010

Dear Alums & Friends,

Greetings from Kingston! Spring is almost finished with the players are off until the 29th. A little time off from our winter training that began after the holiday break. It is well deserved for the work they did! The off-season is a great time for the guy’s to work on weaknesses and develop their strengths in preparation for the spring as well as next season. Our schedule utilized our NCAA maximum 8 hours with the team (2 hours of which a ball can be used) in combination of fitness, strength and technical training sessions. We were up at 6:30 am each morning working on the track on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and in the gym for technical sessions on Tuesday and Thursdays. In addition we were in the weight room three days per week, played pick up on their own a couple of days as well as help us with our weekly Rams FC Youth Soccer Academy.

Next week after spring break we start training outside and play five scrimmage dates on the weekends to complete the non-traditional season. Here is the 2010 Spring Non-traditional season schedule:

April 3
@University of Southern New Hampshire (Manchester, NH)
4:00 pm

April 10
@UMass Spring Invitational (Amherst, MA)
vs Syracuse University - 11:00 am
vs University of Massachusetts - 2:30 pm

April 17
SIENA COLLEGE (Kingston, RI)

April 24
@College of the Holy Cross Invite (Worcester, MA)
vs Holy Cross - 10:00 am
vs University of Vermont - Noon

April 25
ALUMNI GAME (Kingston, RI)
Noon

April 28
BRYANT UNIVERSITY (Kingston, RI)
7:00 pm

As you can see it is a competitive schedule and an exciting time for our players as they prepare to pursue their goal of an Atlantic 10 Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament bid.

On the academic side of things we had over 100 student-athletes honored during half-time of the St. Bonaventure versus URI men’s basketball game for earning a place on the Deans List for the spring or fall of 2009. URI men’s soccer was represented well by senior Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland), Juniors Matt Preyss (Chagrin Falls, OH), Michael Tanke (Niles, MI) and Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) as well as sophomore Eric Hutson (St. Louis, MO). Prior to the game URI President David Dooley addressed the group at a reception held in the Alumni room of the Ryan Center. It was a nice event and I was very proud of our guy’s for setting such a good example for the rest of the squad.

On the alumni front we have a lot to report beginning with Adam Howarth ’08 who joined us this winter for a couple of training session prior to participating in some professional trials in England. He played last season with AC Kajani in Finland but decided not to return. While he was here, we also got him to confirm the rumor that he is engaged. Ross Smith ‘03, who has recovered fully from surgery to correct a congenital heart defect that delayed his signing with Major League Soccer a year ago. He has worked himself back and has now found a home with the Portland Timbers. The Timbers are scheduled to be the next MLS expansion team. Speaking of MLS, Houston Dynamo All-Star Geoff Cameron ’08 received an invite into the United States National Team training camp in January and earned his first cap for US National Team in a World Cup friendly versus Guatemala at the beginning of the month. In other news former URI Assistant Coach Pat Laughlin was recently named the head coach at interstate rival Brown University. Pat was with us in 2006 but left to become the Head Men’s Coach at our alma mater University of Maine until they abruptly cut the program in the spring of 2009. He takes over from former coach Mike Noonan who left this winter for Clemson University. On the home front URI Director of Soccer Operations Frank Bergren will be retiring from teaching this spring after over 20 years in the Westerly School system. Bergs assured us that he’ll continue working with our program and we are happy to hear it because he has been an invaluable part of our staff.

Alumni, parents and Friends of URI Soccer, you are cordially invited to attend our 2009-2010 Team Banquet on Saturday May 1st at 12 Noon at the Institute for International Sport. The luncheon will be the final event of the academic year and a chance for us to honor players from the 2009 squad with our teams awards including the third annual Ed Bradley Alumni Service Award, recognition of the class of 2009 as well as the first screening of the highlight video which is always fun. Tickets are $10.00 per person and can be purchased by contacting Assistant Coach Mitch Stone at stone@mail.uri.edu. Donations for the banquet from those who cannot attend will be gladly accepted.

FORMER URI RAMS don’t forget the Alumni game Sunday April 25 at 12 Noon here at the URI Soccer Complex. The game as always pits our present players versus the veterans followed by a BBQ for players, family and supporters sponsored by the “Friends of Men’s Soccer”. I will send you another reminder in the next couple of weeks but until then pass the word and drop us a line back to let me know you will be attending. Please include any the names of family, friends or guests will be coming with you so we make sure we order enough food for everyone.

Before I sign off a reminder to alums to make sure you go to www.frontrush.com/URI in order to update your alumni profile on our new on-line database through a company called Frontrush. We are using it for recruiting as well as to keeping in contact with you our alums and the other “Friends of URI Soccer”. So, please help us to keep in touch with you and your friends, classmates and teammates.

Well, that is about it for now. Hope to see you all down the road in the very near future. Look out for more news down the road including our 2010 schedule as well as the URI class of 2010.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

December 23, 2009

Dear Friends & Alums,

The first real snow of the season has fallen, campus is quiet and our players have left for home following exams. Rob, Mitch and I are busy getting some last minute things done in the office before we take time to spend with our loved ones.

So, as we get closer and closer to the Christmas I wanted to send out best wishes and a Happy Holiday season from our staff and players to all of you and your families. We here at URI Men's Soccer appreciate all your support during the past year and look forward to what 2010 will bring us.

Happy New Year and a Joyous Holiday Season,
Coach O'C

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