The University of Rhode Island Men’s Soccer team failed to snap the University of Massachusetts’ five-game unbeaten streak last Saturday when they lost 5-2 in Amherst, the first time since 2014 that the Rams allowed five goals on the road.
The Minutemen wasted no time establishing why they are unbeaten this season. In the sixth minute, leading goal scorer Alec Hughes would knock in a cross from Yosuke Hanya to get the home team on the scoreboard. The duo connected again 13 minutes later to give UMass a two-goal advantage early on in the first half.
The Rams eventually settled into the game and answered with a goal from junior Zach Drayer in the 33rd minute, the second of his career. Just when it looked like the momentum had flipped in the Rams’ favor, Tyler Mann found the back of the net off another Hanya assist to reestablish the Minutemen’s 3-1 lead heading into the break.
Rhode Island Men’s Soccer Coach Gareth Elliott said that this third goal hurt his team’s chance of getting back into the game.
“We were going into halftime feeling okay about ourselves, only down one goal in the game, and then they scored a third and then the momentum shifted right before halftime,” he said.
Coming out of the locker room, the Minutemen used the same script in the second half and picked up two goals in the first 12 minutes courtesy of Graham Brenner and Filippo Begliardi Ghidini. Freshman Kevin Castenada cut into the deficit with his first career goal in the 68th minute for Rhode Island, but it wouldn’t be enough as Rhody dropped their first conference game of the season.
Freshman Michael Tavares and junior transfer Patrick Agyemang also recorded their first points of their URI career with assists each side of halftime, but it was all for naught with Elliott emphasizing the need for his team to defend better.
“Defensively as a team, we’ve got to defend better,” Elliott said. “We can’t afford to go on the road and give up many goals, nevermind five, if you’re going to have a chance to be successful.”
Saturday also marked the first time that the Rams took the field since the team went on pause due to COVID-19 issues on March 9. When asked about whether his team going on pause and limited time to prepare for UMass played a factor in their lopsided defeat, Elliott simply said that there aren’t any excuses.
“At this point, I don’t think that’s an excuse,” he said. “Everybody is dealing with adversity and challenges due to COVID. We have to prepare a little bit better and deal with the adversity that comes our way during COVID.”
The Rams will look to get back on track on Saturday when they take a trip to the Bronx to face Fordham in a battle of the Rams. The last time these two teams met, a nine-round penalty shootout in the 2019 Atlantic 10 semifinals was needed to give Rhody the 1-0 victory. Kick off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Zach Drayer scored his second-ever goal for URI, but it wasn’t enough vs UMass. Photo from gorhody.com.