The University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team (6-10-1, 3-4-0) finished their last home game of the regular season on a high note when they defeated George Mason University, 3-1 on senior night at the URI Soccer Complex.
Unfortunately for the Rams who played their final home game; Wesley Matthews, Dante Lamb and Nick Ferguson, the fact that the Rams’ playoff chances remain in doubt prevented them from fully soaking in the moment. URI came in needing a couple more wins and some help to clinch the final spot in the conference tournament.
Rhode Island would start off the scoring barrage just under 11 minutes into the first half. Senior forward Nick Ferguson was tripped up in the box by a George Mason defender resulting in a penalty shot that was finished with ease by freshman midfielder Stavros Zarokostas. In the 31st minute, the Rams would double their lead. Sophomore midfielder Dominik Richter ripped a shot into the opposite corner of the net from the edge of the Patriots’ box. Minutes later, Richter would step up to the penalty spot and connect on his second goal of the evening to give Rhode Island the 3-0 lead going into halftime.
One minute into the second half, George Mason would ruin Rhode Island’s clean sheet. The Patriots’ Conlan Kemmerer found a loose ball at his feet, and curled a shot just inside the right post behind Rams keeper Nils Leifhelm. It would be the only time George Mason would get to celebrate, as Rhode Island’s defense carried the team the rest of the way to a final of 3-1.
“It was a game of two halves,” head coach Gareth Elliott said. “The first half I thought we played quite well creating and taking chances to go 3-0 up. In the second half, we turned the ball over more, weren’t playing with as much intensity, and sort of sat back and defended for our lives.”
Rhode Island midfielder Zarokostas added to his team-leading sixth goal of the season, and for his efforts was awarded Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. Richter earned his second multi-goal game of his short underclassman career. Junior midfielder Carlo Davids also contributed with his team-high fifth assist of the season on Richter’s first goal of the match.
The victory was significant for URI, as they now sit tied for eighth place in the A-10 standings. The Rams are one win away from making the eight-seeded conference tournament which would give them an opportunity to compete for a conference title.
“We needed to win for the A-10’s,” Elliott said. “It is obviously always nice to win on senior night sending our seniors out on a winning note. But it was more important for the A-10 tournament knowing that two wins gets us in. This result gives us the ability to accomplish what we have been aiming for since the beginning of the season.”
Rhode Island will play for their postseason lives this upcoming Saturday against Duquesne University, at 7 p.m. at the Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Since the George Mason game, we have already been in postseason run mode,” Elliott said. “It is win or go home and the Duquesne game will be nothing different, we are preparing for it like it is a postseason tournament game, and we need to win it just like we do postseason tournament games.”