Niclas Middrup takes control of the ball against UConn in this week’s soccer game. Photo by Autumn Walter
In men’s soccer on monday night, the University of Rhode Island picked up their first victory of the season in a 2-1 Ocean State Derby win against in-state rival Providence College.
The winning goal came courtesy of senior Noam Kolakofsky. The transfer from Franklin Pierce was at the right place at the right time in the 61st minute when the ball fell his way inside the penalty area. He coolly slotted the ball in the net, with the Providence players arguing for an offsides call the referees did not grant.
It was Kolakofsky’s first goal as a Rhody Ram after battling injuries through the beginning of the season. After the game Head
“He showed tonight in his brief time on the field that he can make things happen for us,” he said.
Rhode Island scored their first goal of the match courtesy of midfielder Ludvik Benco. After Kolakofsky’s shot hit the post, the ball fell to Benco at the top of the box. The midfielder took a touch to set
Eighteen seconds before URI put the second goal on the scoreboard, the visitors leveled the score. A long throw-in eventually found the hand of defender Sondre Karteud in the penalty box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Friars. Captain Joao Serrano made no mistake with the finish, sending a helpless Stefan Schmidt the wrong way.
The redshirt junior, who got injured in the same fixture last season, made eight saves on the night. His performance earned praise from his head coach after the game.
“Stefan is someone that we have a lot of belief in and he made a couple of big-time saves tonight,” he said. “I think he organized the backline well so we have a lot of belief of what he can do in goal.”
The win against the Friars meant it was the first time URI won a home match against their in-state rivals since 2007. Coach Elliott alluded to some luck happening along the way, but was still happy with the win.
“All in all we’ll take a little bit of luck when it comes our way,” he said. “Getting out of here with a win against PC is a good result for us.”
Rhody started out the season winless after losses to the University of Connecticut and Boston College and a home draw against Fairfield in the season-opener. As part of the new season, players from last year’s team, headlined by the graduation of defender Tyler Dickson and midfielder Dominik Richter, needed replacing. While Elliott has experimented with different lineups, including freshmen Rohun Kowale making his first collegiate start in the derby, he highlighted the challenges of trying to build his team with various obstacles.
“We’ve been trying to get everyone to gel together with the new guys coming in as best as we can,” he said. “We’ve had some injuries so guys have had to go in-and-out of the lineup in different spots and everyone has done a good job so far. Results might not have shown that but
Up next for the Rams is home match with Merrimack College, who is new to Division 1. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow at the URI Soccer Complex.