September 13, 2009

Dear Alumni & Friends,

We've just returned from the Nike/Hypertherm Classic hosted by Dartmouth College, coming away with a 1-1 record and second place finish. We defeated previously undefeated Iona College 2-0 on Friday night before falling to the host 2-0 this afternoon. Over the stretch of the weekend I was pleased with the teams play as I fell we are starting to come together and getting a hold of our strengths and weaknesses. We were also happy to get back captain Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) and Michael Tanke (Niles, MI) from injuries. Although we unfortunately got limited time from Andres Ruiz (Providence, RI) who is battling injury himself, the players around him picked up the slack.

In our first match we met Iona College (NY) who came into the weekend 3-0 and ranked in the top five in their region. They are a technically talented team who have a certain amount of "trickery" to them so we had to be careful coming out. The first half we were not our best but grinded it out through the 45 minutes and even getting a goal from freshmen Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, NJ) on a wonderful assist from Michael Tanke. The score stayed that way until senior midfielder Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) shot from the left side of the box and junior forward Jonathan Pereira (Barrington, RI) redirected for an insurance tally and the first goal of his career. The team collected its‚ second shutout of the season and we were off to a good start in Hanover.

After a day off and some much needed rest, we returned to action on Sunday versus the host Big Green who had drew with the University of Connecticut 0-0 the day before. The Dartmouth match was certainly a good test as the home team was ranked as high as 6th in some of the national polls so we knew we would have our hands full. The game began with a flurry and our boy‚s got on the offensive and threatened the Dartmouth defense several times. Dwayne Williams (Westmoreland, Jamaica), the Nike/Hypertherm Classic Defensive Player of the Tournament, had a great match containing the Big Greens reigning Ivy Rookie of the Year in the air and along the ground. In a flurry of legs and feet a foul was called against the Rams on top of the box and Dartmouth's New Zealand International Daniel Keats scored on the ensuing free kick to make it 1-0 which carried into the half-time interval.

The second half was an extension of the first as our boys put together some good attacks which unfortunately stalled a bit in the final 18 yards. The Big Green were not to be outdone as they put together their own offensive surges, one ending in a semi breakaway that Chris Pennock (Spennymoor, England) made a fantastic stop on. But late in the match after a near penalty shot was called the second we didn't get so lucky and the referee pointed to the spot. Keats again stepped up and buried the 12 yarder to give Dartmouth the security they needed for the win.

All and all there were a lot of good things we could take from the weekend even in defeat. We got a few of the boys back and playing as well as encouraging and consistent performances out of defenders Franco LoPresti (Scarborough, Ontario) and Matt Preyss (Chagrin Falls, OH). I'm confident that when we get to full strength prior to the A-10 season beginning we will be ready and productive.

Its a short rest and then the University of Hartford Hawks come to town for our first game at home since the students returned for the fall semester. They have started off well on the season so it should be another great match at the URI soccer complex. Kick-off is 7:00 pm. We hope to see you there!

GO RAMS!
Coach OC