The University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team lost their third straight match on Sunday, falling 3-2 at home to Vermont.
The Rams came out of the gate aggressive. In the seventh minute, senior Ari Stanton took a pass from redshirt sophomore Megan Tracewell on the right side of the field and netted her fourth goal of the season to give URI a 1-0 lead.
Vermont evened things up when Rhode Island inadvertently scored an own-goal in the 16th minute. The remainder of the half saw both teams have their fair share of scoring opportunities, but neither were able to capitalize.
URI came out just as strong as they did in the first half and regained their momentum after a breakaway goal by redshirt senior Chelsea Gates in the 54th minute.
Vermont was able to overcome URI with opportune play and resilience. The complexion of the match changed when Vermont’s Rylee Osgood netted two goals. She first scored the equalizer in the 67th minute and then again minutes later earning the eventual game-winner off a header in the box.
“They took their chances when they presented them,” head coach Michael Needham said.
Vermont proved more accurate in their attack with nine of their 11 shots being on-goal, while only half of URI’s shots were.
The loss dropped the Rams below .500 after a hot 3-1-1 start to the season.
“We are not in a slump,” Needham said. “We are in the process of getting everyone back and healthy. We played our non-conference really well. Now we just have to do it in the conference.”
There were, however, some bright spots in the defeat. Senior goalkeeper Katie Nickles improved upon her conference-leading save tally with a solid performance against the ample arsenal of UVM.
URI will look to get back on track when they host Albany on Thursday.