April 2, 2009

Sorry for the late e-mail concerning the first spring weekend but the flu is going through our house (i.e. Sheila had it) so I've been trying to catch up since the onslaught and recovery. Being Mr. Mom is TOUGH!

This past weekend we had a our first match at Northeastern University and it started with a bang...literally. In warm-ups sophomore Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, MA) managed to shatter a window in the NU team building which was located behind the goal. The Huskies coach Brian Ainscough was actually grateful as he has been asking NU for a net system behind that goal so Gregs fuax pas added fuel to the fire as far as he was concerned.

The game too got off to a great start with the first 30 minutes being an impressive one for our boy's. We put a good amount of pressure on NU creating chances from Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) on a great pass over the top from Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) which he used to almost chip the goalie. We got another couple of good chances off of interceptions by Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) who was all over the place on the afternoon. The back four which included two new faces in Eric Hutston (St. Louis, MO) and Franco LoPresti (Whitby, Ontario) were solid in front of Peyton Warwick (Kansas City, KS) who had little to do in the first 45 minutes.

In the second stanza Northeastern changed their tactics a bit, playing very direct which caused some problems for our defense as they threatened the goal a few times. Rhody still generated some chances of their own including a ball cleared off the line by an NU defender, one that hit the post and a bicycle kick by Greg Balicki off of service from Reece Markman (Dallas, TX). In the end neither team could crack the seal and the match ended 0-0.

STARTING LINE-UP: Warwick, Petrarca, Williams, Hutson (Zane), LoPresti (McCormick), Tanke (Markman), Shaw, Ruiz, Crooks (Preyss), Puranen (Pereira), Balicki (Sousa).

The Saturday we head to Amherst, Massachusetts for the UMass Spring Invitational. We kick off at 12 Noon against Army and follow up with our second 70 minute game with the host Minutemen at approximately 2:30 pm. If you are in the area or are keen for a ride to Western, MA we hope to see you there.

Before I sign off just a quick reminder about the ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME on SATURDAY APRIL 25th at 11:00 am at the URI Soccer Complex. Following the game their will be a BBQ. The event is FREE for all those alumni who attend and $10 per person for friends and family. Donations to help cover the cost of the t-shirts and food are always welcome. Alumni are ask to RSVP with their t-shirt size (and significant others attending) so we have enough food and such. The t-shirt deadline is Friday April 17th. After that there is no guarantee for the correct size or a shirt so make sure you let me know...

Hope you will all be able to make it out to one of our spring games as well as the Alumni Game. The remaining spring schedule is as such:

April 3
@UMASS SPRING INVITATIONAL
12 Noon v Army
2:30 pm v UMass

April 8
@Bryant College, 7:00 pm

April 15
@Holy Cross, 7:00 pm

April 18
@MAINE SPRING INVITE
12:45 pm v Southern New Hampshire
2:00 pm v Maine

TAKE CARE & GO RHODY!