2008 Woodie Awards
Men's soccer wins 3-1 at UMass
Matt Pavao
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Sports
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10/30/07 - The University of Rhode Island men's soccer team took another step toward becoming a top seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament with a 3-1 win over the University of Massachusetts on Saturday.
The Rams allowed a goal in the first minute of the game but were able to come back with the help of the first-ever collegiate goals by two of their players.
Red shirt freshman Andres Ruiz and sophomore Domenic Petrarca both scored their first collegiate goals in the game with Ruiz's tying the game at one and Petrarca's pushing the lead to 3-1 late in the game.
"We had two players score their first-ever goals, both are local guys," head coach John O'Connor said. "To be able to score three goals without two of your top players [Lukasz Tumicz and Dawid Badecki] its very exciting and gives them confidence. After the game the guys came off the field feeling really good."
Rhode Island fell into an early hole when the Minutemen scored a goal 41 seconds into the match, but O'Connor was happy with the way his team dealt with the early deficit.
"I didn't see any hanging heads after the goal," O'Connor said. "They were angry that they had given up the goal. One of the things we were afraid of was that they would sit in on defense and they did but we were able to be patient and score."
The Rams tied the game late in the first half when Ruiz scored on a direct kick. Freshman Greg Balicki put URI ahead midway through the second half and eight minutes later Petrarca scored off a pass by senior Steve Mellen to put the game out of reach.
"When they scored, there was still a long time to play after the goal so there was very little panic," O'Connor said. "We were methodical with how we approached it. When you know that you can come back it is a good feeling."
After their first goal, it became clear that UMass was overmatched against the Rams. Rhode Island out shot the Minutemen 27-3 in the game and had 13 shots on net compared to only two by UMass.
"We put ourselves behind and that was tough but it was probably our most dominating performance of the season," O'Connor said. "It was pretty lopsided. Their only first half shot was the goal."
The scoring is a good sign for the Rams after they struggled with offense during their non-conference schedule.
"We always created a lot of chances but now we're finishing them," O'Connor said. "Creating those chances against teams like Notre Dame gives you confidence and although the conference is good, it isn't at that top ranked level."
Rhode Island will play its final two home games of the season this weekend. The Rams will take on Fordham University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will play La Salle University Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The Rams allowed a goal in the first minute of the game but were able to come back with the help of the first-ever collegiate goals by two of their players.
Red shirt freshman Andres Ruiz and sophomore Domenic Petrarca both scored their first collegiate goals in the game with Ruiz's tying the game at one and Petrarca's pushing the lead to 3-1 late in the game.
"We had two players score their first-ever goals, both are local guys," head coach John O'Connor said. "To be able to score three goals without two of your top players [Lukasz Tumicz and Dawid Badecki] its very exciting and gives them confidence. After the game the guys came off the field feeling really good."
Rhode Island fell into an early hole when the Minutemen scored a goal 41 seconds into the match, but O'Connor was happy with the way his team dealt with the early deficit.
"I didn't see any hanging heads after the goal," O'Connor said. "They were angry that they had given up the goal. One of the things we were afraid of was that they would sit in on defense and they did but we were able to be patient and score."
The Rams tied the game late in the first half when Ruiz scored on a direct kick. Freshman Greg Balicki put URI ahead midway through the second half and eight minutes later Petrarca scored off a pass by senior Steve Mellen to put the game out of reach.
"When they scored, there was still a long time to play after the goal so there was very little panic," O'Connor said. "We were methodical with how we approached it. When you know that you can come back it is a good feeling."
After their first goal, it became clear that UMass was overmatched against the Rams. Rhode Island out shot the Minutemen 27-3 in the game and had 13 shots on net compared to only two by UMass.
"We put ourselves behind and that was tough but it was probably our most dominating performance of the season," O'Connor said. "It was pretty lopsided. Their only first half shot was the goal."
The scoring is a good sign for the Rams after they struggled with offense during their non-conference schedule.
"We always created a lot of chances but now we're finishing them," O'Connor said. "Creating those chances against teams like Notre Dame gives you confidence and although the conference is good, it isn't at that top ranked level."
Rhode Island will play its final two home games of the season this weekend. The Rams will take on Fordham University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and will play La Salle University Sunday at 2:30 p.m.