September 11, 2012

Dear Alums & Friends,

We got back late last night from our trip to the Windy City. It was a homecoming of sorts for our Chicagoland seniors Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL) and Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL) as well as for me, as I spent 11 years coaching at the University of Chicago prior to arriving in Kingston. We were there for the NIU adidas Invitational, where we played two 2011 NCAA Tournament participants; the Big Ten’s Northwestern and our hosts from Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference. Although we came away with a disappointing 0-1-1 record, I know we learned valuable lessons against good opponents that will make us better down the road.

In our first game on Friday night, a stiff wind became a major factor in the match. NIU was a good squad and they came out with some quality sequences and possession in the opening 30 minutes but were not able to capitalize. The boys settled down and from that point on it became a test of wills… or rather who could survive playing against the wind.

Statistically, NIU was the lead team in shots and corners but their percentages revealed less than a dominant result as freshmen redshirt goalkeeper Thomas Spenser (Hastings on Hudson, NY), starting the first game of his career, handling the Huskies' few dangerous chances. “Spense” had good night handling crosses well and making two big saves when needed; one on a semi breakaway and another on a diving stop off a free kick. Regulation ended 0-0 and in the overtime was not much different as neither team could find the deciding chance. It was far from our best soccer to date but it was a gutsy performance on a night when we had to grind out a result.

On Saturday we had a light training session and then were treated to a relaxing lunch at the home of Robby Gargaro’s house hosted by his parents Bob and Geri and attended by a slew of our Rhody parents including Terry Casey, the Cloutiers, Eckmayers and Ribben’s. We had quite a crowd at both games as in addition to our parents the supporters group included Luann & Jim Ruddy (parents of Dean ’05) and John & Valerie Tanke (parents of Michael ’10) as well as the extended family (grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins) of Andy Hess (N. Kingstown, RI) who hail from the South Side of Chicago.

Sunday, we were provided with a great opportunity in the form of an skillful Northwestern Wildcat team who had beaten Drake 2-1 in OT in the other match-up on Friday night. They were small up front but a very quick and technical team that we felt we could match up well against. The game was all that we thought it would be and statistically even in the end but it had its’ ebbs and flows with NW counting on possession to our counter attack and pockets of soccer.

NWU got on the board first with a scrappy goal it the 15th minute but we continued to battle and 2 minutes from the interval Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) curled a cross from the flank into the back post space where Andrew Tetzlaff (Livingston, NJ) volleyed it home for the equalizer.

In the opening minutes of the second half we found ourselves behind in the score line again on a controversial “yes/no” offside call that led to a Wildcat goal. We now had to chase the game and with that take chances that could expose us. A lapse in concentration off a short restart led to third NWU goal and the game seemed to be slipping away.

But, the guy’s persevered until Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) slipped a pass wide to Michael Casey (Wakefield, RI) and he hit a swerving left footed drive from a tough angle that hit off the far post and into the near post side netting for his first goal of the year. We had 11 minutes to go and that is all we could ask for at this juncture. We continued to press to create chances and when Brett Uttley (Jamestown, RI) shot was saved by the Wildcat GK we had ran out of time. Matt Sykes and Michael Casey earned All-Tournament honors for their work on the weekend but I’m sure they would gladly turn in their individual honors for another result.

Now we have a full week of preparation for our next match at Holy Cross on Saturday September 15th at 7:00 pm. It will be nice to get the guy’s in our regular training rhythm with recovery, rest and training.

By the way following the Brown game I received an email from David Stephenson ’64 who commented: “Fifty years ago I made 48 saves against Brown University at Meade Field. Unfortunately there were five shots I did not stop! And just to rub in their triumph against our hapless Rams, their coach, Cliff Stevenson made his team run wind sprints after the game”. Shows you how deep the roots of the Brown/URI rivalry are in the end.

Also got a nice email from Bob Sauter, father of former goalkeeper Mark Sauter ’07. He wanted to let everyone know that Mark got married in Boston the weekend of September 2nd to Leah Marani ‘07, his URI classmate and college sweetheart. Mark is a graduate of University of Cincinnati Law School and works as an Attorney for the Department of Homeland Security in Boston where he deals with immigration cases in federal District Court. Congrats and best wishes to Mark & Leah!

Don’t forget Homecoming Weekend 2012, October 26th – 28th. Hope to see you all then…

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

September 4, 2012

Dear Friends & Alums,


WOW! What an exciting night! We had a crowd of over 2500 on hand and they got two exciting games in the 3rd Annual Ocean State Soccer Classic. Thanks to our Rams FC families as well as all our alums, parents and supporters who were in attendance. It was overwhelming...

In the first game of day Brown defeated Providence 1-0 to take home their first OSSC Tournament Championship. Then the fireworks went off in the consolation where we battled with Bryant University to a 4-4 draw. It was a great game for the fans as 8 tallies between the two teams squashes any soccer “newbies” thoughts that there are not a lot of goals scored in our game. It obviously wasn’t something we were necessarily looking for after conceding only 2 goals previously in two 0-1 defeats to open the season but it was exciting none the less.

The game was a seesaw battle with two of our guy’s getting their first career goals in the opening half. First, redshirt sophomore Trevor Moran (Willbraham, MA) banged home a missed clearance that went off the inside of the left post and into the right side netting to tie the game at 1-1. Senior captain Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL) got his tally 6 minutes later off sophomore midfielder Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) corner that classmate Mike Casey (Wakefield, RI) knocked down with his head. It put us up 2-1 and seemed like we had the momentum but Bryant equalized just before the half.

In the second half the teams traded penalty shots in less than a 2 minute span as Sykes got his first of two goals on the night. The Bulldogs would pull ahead in the 59th minute but “Syksey” scored on a long shot off a Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME) punt to bring it even again. Although we got several chances including a Robby Gargaro header that went off the post, crossbar and GK hands, we also got help of the soccer gods on a Bryant ball that hit the crossbar in overtime - neither team could find the winner.

For their performances on the weekend, Brett Uttley (Jamestown, RI) and Matt Sykes were named to the Ocean State Classic All-Tournament Team.

Classes begin tomorrow and we travel to DeKalb, IL for the weekend to play in the NIU adidas Invitational. We have the host Huskies on Friday at 6:00 pm and Northwestern University Wildcats of the Big Ten on Sunday at Noon (*both times are Eastern). It should be a great weekend of soccer as these two teams both played in the NCAA Division I Tournament last season.

Before I sign off congratulations to David Caetano ‘82 who was recently voted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame. He will be inducted later this fall and now be among several former Rhody players to be bestowed this honor, our most recent being Kevin Murphy ‘80 in 2011.

Take care and GO RHODY!
Coach O’C

September 1, 2012

Dear Alumni & Friends,


We took a disappointing loss at #24 Brown last night in the semi-final of the Ocean State Soccer Classic. The Bears scored on what most in attendance considered a dubious penalty in the first half but we put on quite a performance in the 2nd 45 minutes. I was very proud of the boy’s effort as we showed excellent pieces of play and progress forward to where we wanted to be down the road.

After taking some time in the first half to adjust to Brown’s direct style of play, the team settled in began to play football. We got several nice set ups for chances off of a couple of Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) crosses but no joy in the end. So, the score line held at 1-0 Brown at the half.

Out of the break we got a hold of the ball and were able to control the tempo of the game. Brett Uttley (Jamestown, RI) and Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) orchestrated so superb combinations with Sykes and Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) providing speed on the flanks. Goalkeeper Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME) and the back four saw some Brown counter attacking chances come their way as we pushed to get a goal. They turned them away and looked like we got the equalizer when Jamie Eckmayer got around the right flank and drove a cross back the Joey Haught slid and redirected in the net. But incredulously the off-side flag was up and the goal taken back. Our last gasp efforts pushing forward were cleared after a couple of blocked shots and the game ended with the Rams on the short end of the score.

It was a terrific performance that Rhody fans would be proud of as we got some key contributions from guy’s off the bench including freshmen Oscar Soons (Breda, Netherlands) and Ross Morison (Linlithgow, Scotland).

Next up is the Ocean State Soccer Classic consolation game which is Monday September 3rd at 7:30 pm. Due to freshmen orientation conflicts at Brown, the final between the Bears and Providence will be played at 5:00 pm. Both games are at the URI Soccer Complex. Admission is FREE so please come join us, see the improvements to the soccer stadium and cheer on the Rams to their first victory of the season.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

August 26, 2012

Dear Alums & Friends,

It was great to hear from all of you who emailed with best wishes for the season. The boy’s and our staff really appreciated it as it means a lot to have the support. Unfortunately a 1-0 loss to the pesky Catamounts of the Green Mountain State was not the way we wanted to start the 2012 season.

The game was the first for men’s soccer on Vermont’s new Virtue Field. The weather was mid-to-upper 80’s and the turf was even hotter (usually 10-15 degrees more on this kind of surface), causing hot spots on many of the guy’s feet. We had a nice group of supporters making the trip to Burlingston including the Eckmayer’s, Casey’s, Uttley’s, Moran’s and Bob Gargaro our weary traveler. We were unfortunately without Tim Dragon ‘13 for the weekend whose grandfather passed away this past week. Our condolences go out to the entire Dragon family who have been loyal supporters of the team.

In spite of being a man up for the entire second half, after their right back was sent off for a reckless challenge with less then a minute before the break, we played well but just couldn’t get the equalizer. The “Green Mountain Men” scored off a long thrown in the first 20 minutes. But, we responded well and for the final 20 minutes of the half we found our rhythm and got a couple good chances with the duo of Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland) and Michael Casey (Wakefield, RI) running up top including a disallowed goal.

In the second stanza we were able to keep the rhythm we found at the first and controlled play. UVM sat in and looked to counter and so our job was to work to break them down. The boy’s did just that including a rip from 18yards by senior midfielder Matt Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL) that just went wide, a whirling spin volley by senior forward Lindroos that just went over the bar and great free kick by Matt Sykes (Sheffield, England) that nearly found the net. As we pressed for the tying goal UVM did get behind us a couple of times but junior red shirt goalkeeper Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME) snuffed out each chance. In the end we ran out of time and ended up on the short end of the result. For those who saw the game streamed off of UVM’s website, I think you saw a good display and a start of what is to come as the season gets into full swing.

Next up is the 3rd Annual Ocean State Classic and our semi-final match-up with the Brown University Bears coached by former Ram Assistant Pat Laughlin. The game is set for Friday August 31st at 7:00 pm in Providence with the consolation and finals being played at the URI Soccer Complex on Monday September 3rd at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm respectively. The specific match-ups will be posted on GoRhody.com after the game on Friday night. We hope you will come out and support the boy’s in the home opener. Last year the game garnered over 2500 fans so we are looking to put that up over the 3000 mark this year!

Before I sign off I wanted to once again thank Trish & Terry Casey (parents of Michael Casey ’15) and Sharon Racca (mother of URI women’s player Devin Racca ’16) for hosting a joint URI men’s & women’s soccer BBQ during pre-season. It was great to have both teams there along with our soccer supporters Tony, Kim & Eric Rose, Matt Racca (brother of Devin who plays at Wentworth College), Dean of the URI Business School Mark Higgins and his wife Ann, Linda and Dennis Kamerzel, Lori, Jim, Katie and Kristina Dufficy (Michael Casey’s Aunt, Uncle and cousins) as well as Betty Tracy (aka Grandma Casey). It was quite a group and a wonderful event to break up the monotony that comes in pre-season training.

Finally, heartfelt CONGRATULATIONS go out to Aimee & Peter Dos Santos ’94 on the birth of their son, Bennett Gardiner on August 16th. Everyone is doing well and the Dos Santos’ now have a five-a-side team of their own with daughters Rylan (6 years old) and Addison (3 years old). Peter assured us in his email that Bennett “will be wearing Rhody Blue in about 17 years”…we certainly expect that!

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

August 23, 2012

Dear Alums & Friends,

Pre-season is officially over and before we know it so will the summer with not much more then 2 weeks left in the dog days of August. But, it is a great sign as it means that we are that much closer to our first game of 2012 versus the Catamounts of the University of Vermont.

Late Friday morning we head north to Burlington for a 1:00 pm match the next day. The guy’s are very excited to get at it after a very good performance against Ivy League foe Harvard in the final exhibition game of pre-season training. So, we are excited to get going for real as UVM will be quite a test being their home opener as well as the first game on their new field turf facility Virtue Field. I’m sure you alums remember Vermonts old Centennial Field. I certainly do from my days at Maine as they had a great atmosphere and following including the students who sat in the trees that hung over the field and heckled the visitors. For those who can’t make it, the game will be streamed on the web for free.

The following weekend the 3rd Annual Ocean State Soccer Classic brings us home for an opening game at Brown on Friday August 31st at 7:00 pm followed by the consolation/finals held at the URI Soccer Complex on Monday September 3rd at 5:00 pm & 7:30 pm respectively. We have our eyes on the being in the finals as we were last season so keep tuned to www.gorhody.com for all the results.

There’s been a lot of news from the alumni front since I last wrote including not only former Ram Geoff Cameron’s move to Stoke City of the EPL but also his terrific performance in the USMNT historic win against Mexico in Azteca Stadium. In many of not all of the on-line soccer pages Geoff and Tim Howard were the #1 stars of the game. Congrats Geoff and our best wishes of more victories like that to come!

The other day Adam Homler ‘88 and his family dropped by the office after a little vacation in Newport before returning to their home on Long Island. They spent some time chatting as well as walking campus. The kids even got to shoot around in the new and improved URI Soccer Complex. They seemed to enjoy their visit and maybe we’ll even get another Homler on the Ram roster in the future!

Also heard just today from Perek Bellah ‘04 Who is coming down on the weekend of October 13th with his family to attend a game. Perek is coaching club soccer in upstate New York and is in close touch with the program as a staunch Rhody supporter!

A reminder that Homecoming Weekend this year is October 26-28 and we will be home with Atlantic 10 games versus Duquesne on Friday at 7:00 pm and St. Bonaventure on Sunday at 1:00 pm. On Saturday we will be sponsoring an Alumni vs. Alumni “Bread & Butter” followed by a URI Soccer BBQ in “Rhodyville” prior to the Homecoming Football game. It should be a great weekend so make plans to get back to Kingston now!

Before I sign off I wanted to let you know that this morning the team and I spent some time at the track encouraging David Isaacks ‘16 in a 1 1/2 mile in run to support him being one of 40 finalists for a $20,000 “Thriving Student” scholarship through the Cystic Fibrosis Association and the “CareForward Scholarship”. David ran the distance supervised by two people from the “Boomer Esiason Foundation” in a sleek 9 minutes with the help of teammate Parker Kuklinski ‘13 who kept him company and helped him pace. If you haven’t already be sure to support David by voting for him at http://www.CFCareForwardScholarship.com as well as check out his inspirational video. Here is this kid living a joyful life with CF buzzing around the track with determination, poise and passion. It truly was site to see and something every one of our players can refer to during games when things are difficult, their gas tanks are getting empty and they need a boost! We are truly luck to have him on the squad.

All the best and GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

April 2, 2012

Dear Alumni & Friends,

We got back late last night from our trip to Albany, NY for two 60-minute matches hosted by Siena College led by head coach and URI Alum Gareth Elliott ‘01. The day was a little rainy and cold and there were predictions of snow the night before but it never materialized. The field turf at Siena played fast due to the conditions but that suited us well in the end.

The first game of the day matched us up with Masters Football Academy (Canada), coached by Junior Groves whose daughter Jeri transferred mid-year to URI to play for the women’s soccer team. Like Siena who played them before us, the game was in our control from the onset but we managed only 1 goal in the first 30 minutes. It came on a well paced through ball to junior forward Jamie Eckmayer ’13 (Harrington Park, NJ) from freshmen striking partner Ross Morison (Linlithgow, Scotland).

In the second half we continued to work away and finally wore them down, scoring 3 including a super chest control and volley by Michael Casey ‘15 (Wakefield, RI) and another on touch finish by Matt Sykes ’15 (Sheffield, England) after a cross and dummy over the ball. We would have had a 5th by junior defender Robby Gargaro (Naperville, IL) but unfortunately it was called back for a handball prior to his finish. It was good to tickle the twine a few times but we knew the second match would be a great challenge.

URI 4, Masters Academy U18 (Canada) 0
Scoring: J. Eckmayer (R. Morison), M. Casey (T. Lindroos), M. Casey (M. Sykes), M. Sykes (M. Ribbens, M. Casey)

Line-up: Spenser (Blanchard 30), Cloutier, Gargaro, Moran, Dragon (Kuklinski 30), Haught, Sykes, Ribbens, Tetzlaff (Janisznewski 45), Eckmayer (Casey 30), Morison (Lindroos 30).

In the second game versus the hosts, the pace was faster and hats off to our guy’s for adapting and responding well to some clever early one touch combination play by Siena. The game had its’ back and forth moments but we also had some of our own creative chances by virtue of a couple of nifty individual runs with the ball by Joey Haught (Brecksville, OH) and Matt Sykes. Siena had a couple of very good chances that just nearly missed as well as a goal called back for offside but the game stayed tied at the interval.

In the second 30 minutes we finally broke through with the first goal of the game as junior midfielder Andrew Tetzlaff’s (Livingston, NJ) tallied his first of the spring from a late back post run. In the closing 15 minutes the Saints put us under pressure but the boy’s held tight and thwarted the hosts advances. An insurance goal from Jamie Eckmayers, his second of the day, gave us breathing room until the final whistle.

URI 2, Siena 0
Scoring: A. Tetzlaff (M. Sykes), J. Eckmayer (T. Lindroos)

Starting Line-up: Spenser, Cloutier, Gargaro, Dragon, Moran (Kuklinski 30), Haught, Sykes, Tetzlaff, Ribbens, Morison (Lindroos 30), Casey (Eckmayer 30).

It was a good day on many fronts, scoring goals and keeping a clean sheet are great rewards for our goalkeepers Adam Blanchard (Scarborough, ME) and Thomas Spenser (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) who have been working hard with Goalkeeper Coach Chris Pennock.

After some recovery time this week we will host a Blue vs. White on Thursday April 5th at 7:00 pm at the URI Soccer Complex. We’ll then take the Easter weekend off and get back at the following week in preparation for hosting NCAA Division II team Assumption (CT) and American International College (MA) on Saturday April 14th beginning at 11:00 am. Hope to see you there!

GO RAMS!
Coach O’C

P.S. ALUMS, if you haven’t already don’t forget to RSVP to Assistant Coach Callum Bisset via the URI Alumni Facebook page or cbissett@mail.uri.edu for the Annual Alumni Game & BBQ on Sunday April 29th at 1:00 pm at the URI Soccer Complex. We have a good crew coming back and look to add to the list. Those who RSVP will be GUARANTEED a limited edition REPLICA GAME JERSEY to be worn during the match that are being ordered TOMORROW. So, don’t miss out...

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