September 14, 2010

Dear Alumni & Friends,

Not a great weekend for the Rams as we travelled to Norfolk, VA to play in Old Dominion’s Stihl Soccer Classic. Going in, we knew that it would be very good competition and a tremendous challenge, especially considering we were without the services of senior central defender Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) who was injured in Monday’s match vs. Bryant. So, needless to say, the team boarded the plane for Virginia ready to take on the challenge.

On Friday night against host Old Dominion, the crowd of nearly 2,000 rabid Monarch fans created a tremendous atmosphere. ODU had entered the game with two impressive opening wins on the season, so we certainly had our hands full. The game started fast and furious, and the boys created some great early chances forcing several corners. ODU weathered the storm and got on the board first on a classy finish from their leading scorer Chris Harmon, who played in the same FC Delco club soccer program as freshmen Tom Palmer (Hummelstown, PA).

The team pressed on in the second half and it looked like we might finally be literally one up on the hosts when Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) received a pass and was hauled down going past the final ODU defender. However, only a caution was issued and the ensuing free kick went over the top. At the interval, we had outshot the hosts, 6-5, and out cornered them, 8-3, but had nothing to show on the scoreboard. We continued to press in the second half but only ODU could find the net, the insurance goal and the victory.

Sunday, we matched up against William & Mary, which had come from behind to defeat a very athletic West Virginia Mountaineer squad, 2-1, on Friday. The boys were really motivated and looked sharp but an early soft goal on a miscommunication led to an early lead for W&M just 2:22 into the match. We plugged along and looked very good on the attack with some great interchanges.

But, at nearly the 30 minute mark, a foul (and subsequent dubious penalty call) became the game changing moment. Instead of being 0-1 down and gaining momentum, we were in a much more difficult position. Trailing by two in the second half, we once again we thought we would get some help when - for the second time in three days - David Malloy (Oxford, England) was taken down going through the Tribe defense and, although a fall wasn’t called, W&M continued to play with 11 players. I give the boys a lot of credit as they continued to press for a goal but with that, you can expose yourself as a team - and we did so twice, conceding 2 more goals in the final 20 minutes for the 4-0 final.

On the bright side, I believe that we are making progress individually with players like Jon Cloutier (Honolulu, HI) who made his first collegiate start, playing nearly all of both games, as well as Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL), who is really growing into his own. In addition, I though the quality of our play from the ODU game to William & Mary was excellent and that we can build on for our next match.

Finally, it was nice to see sophomore defender Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL) and senior midfielder Michael Tanke (Niles, MI) honored as part of the All-Tournament team.

Well, it’s on to the next match and a good week of training in preparation for the home opener this Saturday September 18th versus URI Alum Gareth Elliott and his Siena College Saints at 7:00 pm at the URI Soccer Complex. As I noted in the last email, this is not only is the game the first home match of the year but also our 3rd Annual Grassroot Soccer fundraising game. As many of you know Grassroot Socceris a non-profit Aids/HIV education organization that uses soccer to send their message of responsibility and abstinence to the children of Africa. Admission is FREE to the game but we are asking that those in attendance make a donation ($5 for adults, $1 for children and students) of which all proceeds go directly to this great cause. We are also hosting Chariho Youth Soccer that night and hope you will be able to join us.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

September 9, 2010

Dear Alumni & Friends,

Sorry for the delay in the postgame email but we’ve been trying to sort some things out as classes begun today. Anyway, we had an exciting finish to the first annual Ocean State Soccer Classic with a 3-2 win over interstate rival Bryant University.

It was a beautiful day in Providence and Stevenson Field at host Brown University was in excellent condition. We had a lot of family and alums there, as well as some special friends including former URI men’s soccer strength & conditioning coach and good pal Doug Stone (who was at the PC game and I missed mentioning him). It was beautiful weather and an excellent atmosphere and we couldn’t have asked for anything more on the day.

With all this, we got a great start to the game and within minutes the first goal of the game. After pressing Bryant and earning a corner senior defender Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) hammered - and I do mean hammered! - home a Jonathan Pereira (Barrington, RI) service. The ball exploded off his head and we were on the board. Minutes later, we almost got our second but defender Eric Hutson (St. Charles, MO) put a volley just over the bar. But we did get the second on a wonderful pass from redshirt freshmen Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) to midfielder Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) who slotted it past the Bulldogs goalkeeper.

We looked as though we were on our way and cruising but soccer is a funny game as it doesn’t take long for a team to get back in the game and Bryant did just that…in just a minute. The Bulldogs scored their first off a free kick and the second on a counter to knot the game at 2-2 at the half.

We regrouped at the interval and began to string some passes together as well as create some chances. Dwayne Williams nearly got his second of the day but only a good save but the Bryant keeper kept him off the board. The guys kept plugging away and, with about 2 minutes to go freshmen, defender Jon Cloutier (Honolulu, Hawaii) intercepted a ball and while stumbling, redirected to sophomore Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL) who in turn fed junior forward Reece Markman (Dallas, TX) running through the Bulldog defense. Reece collected the pass, drew the GK and slid it across to Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) who one timed it into an open goal for the game winner. It was an exciting end to the game but I would have preferred it a little easier as you can imagine.

Well, we are off today to Norfolk, VA to play in the Old Dominion University/Stihl Soccer Classic. We play the host ODU Monarchs on Friday at 7:00 pm and then CAA foe William & Mary on Sunday at Noon. I have heard it is a great event and I know we are all looking forward to going their and competing against two very good teams.

Before I sign off I want to welcome back former URI Ram and former captain Callum Bissett who just returned to campus to begin a graduate degree in Systems Engineering. We are excited to get Callum involved with the program while he is here and also to have him working with our youth club Rams FC.

Finally, a reminder that the home opener is a little over a week away on Saturday September 18th when we meet URI Alum Gareth Elliott and his Siena College Saints at 7:00 pm at the URI Soccer Complex. Not only is the game the home opener but is also our 3rd Annual Grassroot Soccer fundraising game. As many of you may know Grassroot Soccer is a non-profit Aids/HIV education organization that uses soccer to send their message of responsibility and abstinence to the children of Africa. Admission is FREE to the game but we are asking that those in attendance make a donation of which all proceeds go directly to this great cause. We are hosting Chariho Youth Soccer that night and hope you will be able to join us.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

September 3, 2010

Dear Alumni & Friends,

The season opened yesterday and unfortunately we were on the losing end of a 2-1 result at intrastate rival Providence in the first semi-final of the 1st annual Ocean State Classic. The match was played in the 94 degree heat of the day that didn’t help either team in the end. It was nice to see a good group of alums and families including Gareth Elliott (I’m sure scouting us after his Siena Saints big 5-1 win over Syracuse Wednesday), Kevin Kennedy, Mario Pereira and Lonny Unger as well as the Tanke’s, Haught’s, Balicki’s, Kuklinski’s, Dragon’s and defender Eric Hutson (St. Louis, MO) mom who was there to celebrate his 21st birthday. Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone...

Anyway, it was a tale of two halves as the Friars dominated possession, but we got on the scoreboard first - just 2 minutes into the game. Senior defender Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica) drove a long pass into the PC defensive third where the ball skimmed off one of their central defenders and over their goalkeeper for an own goal. Before the half would end, we would trade bad goals as a miscommunication at the back allowed one of the Providence forwards to slip in and intercept the ball, dribble around goalkeeper Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, KS) and deposit it into an open goal for the 1-1 tie. Our guy’s nearly got the lead back when a Jon Pereira (Barrington, RI) driven cross found midfielder Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) at the back post but his shot went high.

The second half was a different story as the boy’s began to connect passes in combination with Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL), Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) and freshmen forward Tom Palmer (Hummelstown, PA) leading the charge. The pin point passing created numerous opportunities including one for senior Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA), Eckmayer from an angle and Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) and Palmer on a 2 on 1 break whose final pass was played too far ahead. The Friars got the last chance when with 3 minutes left following a Ram turnover, a nifty bent cross found a diving Friar player for the winner.

After a day off and some much needed rest from the heat we’ll be back at it on Saturday in preparation for the consolation game of the Ocean State Classic on Monday at Brown University. We will play the loser of the Bryant vs Brown game that is later today in Smithfield. Hopefully Hurricane Earl will not interfere with the game being played as the nasty weather is not supposed to get to Rhode Island until after midnight. If this is the case then the game will be played on Saturday and the result known then.

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

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

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