The University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team (5-10-1, 2-4-0 A-10) defeated the University of Massachusetts Amherst 2-1 last Wednesday at the Rhode Island Soccer Complex, before losing to the University of Dayton 2-0.
Rhode Island broke out to an early 1-0 lead seconds before the six minute mark in the first half. Junior midfielder Ryan Bailey recovered the ball in the UMass box and found freshman midfielder Stavros Zarokostas in the six yard box, who teed up a strike into the opposite corner of the net.
Head coach Gareth Elliott has been impressed with URI’s freshman leading goal scorer (five), knowing the impact his addition has made for the team.
“I commend that he’s done a great job since the start of the season,” Elliott said. “He is very dangerous and draws a lot of defenders, opening up the field for other players. Obviously when he has had chances to score goals he has done that.”
The Rams added a second goal to their lead in the 54th minute. Redshirt sophomore midfielder and Syracuse University transfer Danny Apajee took advantage of a great passing sequence from Bailey and junior midfielder Carlo Davids. Bailey was found on the outside flank by Davids, and then sent a cross into the UMass box that Apajee was able to finesse into the net for the two-goal lead.
UMass would cut the deficit in half in the 73rd minute on a scrappy finish inside of the URI box from Josh Jess. The insurance goal would be the difference, as the Rams defended well enough to keep the final score to a 2-1 conference victory.
“We were just okay,” Elliott said. “It was a scrappy game. UMass likes to play a physical, ariel style game and not keep the ball on the ground and pass it like we do. At times we got caught in their game a little bit, and didn’t really play our own game too much. I thought the game should have been a lot more comfortable. All in all, we were happy with the result.”
Saturday night, Dayton hosted Rhode Island at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio. The Flyers would get on the scoreboard first in the 28th minute, when Michael Frasca scored just over a minute after being subbed in off of a deflection in the URI box. Dayton held URI to a 1-0 first half score line before Frasca scored his second goal, also off of a deflection in URI’s box less than four minutes into the second half. Dayton’s 2-0 lead remained intact on the strength of their defense. URI outshot their opponents 18-8, with a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, but were unable to light up the scoreboard in the shutout loss.
“It’s not an easy place to go play but I thought we went there and played okay,” Elliott said. “I think we could have defended better and we created enough chances with 18 shots in the game. We hit the post and had the ball cleared off of the line. If you don’t take advantage of chances you’ll lose 2-0.”
Rhode Island will host another Atlantic 10 opponent in George Mason on Saturday at 7 p.m., which will also serve as the team’s senior night, the last time some of Elliott’s most trusted Rams play their final home game.
“The guys who are seniors for us right now are guys who are first class I ended up bringing in,” Elliott said. “Between Nick Ferguson, Wesley and Dante, they have stood the test of time. They are still here and have continued to work hard during their time here being dedicated, and doing whatever has been asked of them. They obviously have improved the level of the program.”