PHOTO CREDIT: Siobhan Richards
The University of Rhode Island Men’s Soccer team, trying to hold their place ahead of the upcoming Atlantic 10 Conference tournament, were able to come away with a win and a draw in a tough stretch against Fordham and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Rhody first took on conference rival Fordham on Saturday, but before the match began, the Rams celebrated their seniors on Senior Night. Goalkeepers Stefan Schmidt and Trevor Dalton as well as midfielder Igor Manrique and winger Hugo Guerra were honored before the start.
Once the match started, business began for the two sides, and it was a cagey, defensive affair. The Rams defense was led by Schmidt, who finished with five saves and a shutout, good enough to earn him his third Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week award of the year. Schmidt was helped out at the back by defenders Alberto Molina and Vetle Nielsen as well as fullbacks Cian Purcell and Zach Drayer, who locked down the wings. However, Fordham limited Rhody to just one shot on target in the first half and both teams went into the break tied at nil.
Rhode Island came out firing in the second half when, in the 47th minute, freshman phenom Isak Oystese shielded his man and spotted graduate transfer Jordan Koduah on the edge of the box. Koduah rifled the shot with his first touch and buried it into the bottom corner, giving himself his first goal of the season and the Rams the 1-0 advantage.
The Rams nearly doubled their lead when Purcell lined up a left-footed rocket from a free kick in the 74th minute, unfortunately, the ball rattled off the crossbar and kept the score at 1-0.
Fordham went all out in the last 15 minutes of play, committing men forward and getting crosses into the box. Schmidt and his defense were equal to anything that Fordham threw their way and were able to see out the 1-0 victory.
Koduah was thrilled to get his first goal but was even more thrilled about how much the goal meant for his team.
“Winning comes first for me and, while it was nice to get my first goal, I am much more excited that we got the win for the seniors tonight,” he said.
That win makes it three in a row for the Rams, and Koduah has all the confidence that they can keep the winning going.
“Our conference is very tough,” Koduah said. “We are very confident, though, and we are just going to continue to take it game by game.”
While the goal from Koduah was crucial, Head Coach Gareth Elliott credited the team’s ability to defend for the win today.
“Defending is always important,” Elliott said. “I thought everyone worked hard today and it was ugly, but it was great to get the win.”
The ensuing match against UMass was more of the same, with the two sides battling back and forth the whole way through. The first half was very cagey, with neither side able to generate much offense. Nilsen and Purcell were great in defense, keeping the UMass playmakers at bay, and Schimdt was equal to any chance from the Minutemen.
The second half opened up for the Rams as graduate student Edvin Akselsen was taken out inside the box for the Rams in the 68th minute. Akselsen lined up to take the penalty, but his shot sailed over the net.
Just 18 minutes later, a cross was rifled into freshman goal scorer Isak Oystese. His shot was deflected off the crossbar by UMass goalkeeper Marvyn Dorchin. Oystese also had the first chance of extra time, but was once again stopped by Dorchin.
After the Oystese chance, the two sides duked it out for the remaining 15 minutes, but to no avail. The match ended 0-0.
The Rams look to maintain second place in the conference when they face La Salle Saturday in their final home game of the season. Kick off is set for 7 p.m.