The University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team (6-8-5) hosted the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament this past weekend where they competed as the eighth seed, losing to the top seeded Saint Joseph’s University 1-0 in double overtime.
Despite the home-field advantage, the Rams came into their matchup against St. Joseph’s (18-2-2, 9-0-1) as the clear underdogs. The Hawks did not lose a game in conference play with only a tie against Fordham preventing them from a perfect A-10 slate. Although there was disparity between the two teams during the regular season, URI took advantage of the big-game atmosphere and the crowd, giving No. 1 St. Joseph’s quite a challenge as both teams were in absolute playoff mode.
Rhode Island outplayed the tournament’s eventual runner-up (lost 7-0 to Dayton in final) during many portions of play, totaling 10 shots on goal to St. Joseph’s nine. The team impressed the crowd and their coach with their determination and grit.
“I knew the character was in there, it was just a matter of it coming out,” head coach Michael Needham said. “We got things going at the right time of year and you can’t do that if you aren’t tough, and our players showed a lot of toughness this year.”
The game was extremely defensive for Rhode Island during the first half, without many chances to score on St. Joe’s goalkeeper Grace Bendon, who made the Hawks’ goal utterly impenetrable with 10 saves in the match. Rhode Island senior keeper Katie Nickles also had a remarkable performance, with eight saves in what she knew could be, and ultimately was her last game in net for the Rams.
One main opportunity in the first half for the Rams was when redshirt junior forward Donika Murray was gifted a penalty kick following a hard tackle in St. Joseph’s box in the 32nd minute. Murray’s shot was stopped and corralled by Bendon who made a magnificent save. The score was locked in a scoreless tie at the end of the first half.
The second half featured another 45 minutes of high-intensity play between both sides, but no goals. Rhode Island did have a handful of quality chances. In the 79th minute Rhode Island freshman midfielder Eydis Embla Ludviksdottir headed a corner kick into the hands of Bendon. The Rams then had a golden opportunity to vanquish the A-10 powerhouse in the 87th minute, when sophomore forward Emily Wakeford ripped a long shot at the St. Joseph’s net that Benton was just barely able to tip off of the crossbar. Wakeford nearly scored again during the final minutes of a scoreless regulation when she took another shot from inside the St. Joseph’s box, but it was blocked away by a defender.
Extra time was back and forth between the two sides up until the 102nd minute. St. Joseph’s Paige Bergman crossed in her team’s eleventh and final corner kick, which found the head of teammate Taylor Ryan and deflected off of a Rhode Island defender for an own goal. It was a frustrating end to a hard-fought and adrenaline-fueled match between two teams, competing for their seasons. Needham knew how close his team was from pulling off the major upset, but takes satisfaction from the fact that they showed their ability to compete against top competition with the stakes at their highest.
“I thought it was an absolutely special performance from us,” Needham said. “They had a special performance from their goalkeeper, where I thought it could have easily been a 3-0 result for us. I thought our team executed the gameplan and did what we asked them to do whenever we asked them to do it. Most importantly, our girls played the way they can play and just cut it loose.”
The Rams had their share of closely contested matches throughout the year, and will hope to be battle-tested and ready to take the next step next year.
“Bright things are ahead for this program if we can play to that level on a consistent basis,” Needham said.