The team’s 3-1 win on Saturday assured that they will at least have a home playoff game in the A-10 Tournament. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark
The University of Rhode Island Men’s Soccer team has clinched home field advantage to start the Atlantic 10 tournament, topping La Salle University 3-1 on Saturday night in their last home outing of the regular season.
The Rams now move to 9-3-2 on the season, along with a 5-1-1 conference record. They currently sit in second place in the A-10 with one game left to play.
Although Rhody had a chance to clinch a top four spot in the conference earlier in the week, Head Coach Gareth Elliott was happy his team got the result they needed.
“Any time you start playing conference play, you start playing for points,” he said. “It puts us in a decent position going into the last conference game.”
URI got the scoring started in this one. After an initial deflection by the Explorers, redshirt junior Patrick Agyemang found the back corner of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead. The forward is Rhody’s scoring leader with seven goals on the year.
“I think the first goal, I was just in the right place at the right time,” Agyemang said. “It deflected right to my foot, and I was able to tap it in.”
The Rams followed that up with another big play, this time in the 42nd minute. On the assist, Agyemang made a no-look pass back to sophomore Kevin Castaneda, who was able to wind up and hit the top of the net. This extended URI’s lead 2-0.
Agyemang finished the game with a goal and an assist, which was good enough to earn him A-10 Player of the Week honors. This marks the Connecticut native’s second award of the season.
The Explorers would finally get on the scoreboard midway through the second half, cutting Rhode Island’s lead back to one. Junior Nare, La Salle’s leading goal scorer, connected on a laser that passed right by the outstretched arms of Rhody goalkeeper Stefan Schmidt.
Going in, Schmidt was the reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks, posting shutouts in URI’s last four matchups. Outside of the goal by Nare, the German had another solid game, recording three saves.
“Stef [Schmidt] has been a rock back there for us,” Elliott said. “He hasn’t conceded a goal in a long time, and the one he conceded tonight was a very special goal.”
La Salle’s momentum would not last long however. Less than three minutes after picking up their first goal, Edvin Akselsen connected on a penalty kick to bring the Rhody lead to 3-1 at the 70:18 mark.
This goal was a moment of redemption for Askelsen. In URI’s previous contest, a 0-0 draw against University of Massachusetts Amherst on Oct. 20, the graduate midfielder missed high on a penalty kick that would have been the game’s deciding goal.
A great defensive effort by the Rams the rest of the way would seal the game in the final 20 minutes. La Salle struggled to get anything going all game, failing to reach 10 total shots through 90 minutes of play.
A major part of URI’s success this season is the presence of their home crowd. The Rams finished with a 6-1-1 record at home this season, a testament to the presence their fanbase brings.
“The crowds this year have probably been better than I can ever remember them, going back to my freshman year in 1998,” Elliott said. “We’ve got that little Rhody Mafia group over there that we like, they give us a little bit of energy as well.”
The players appreciate the presence of their renewed fanbase as well.
“It’s just lovely that we have this supporting cast,” Agyemang said. “I know in the past they didn’t really have it as much, so we’re just grateful for this.”
Rhody will close out their season on the road against the first-place St. Louis Billikens. Even with the success St. Louis has had this season, the Rams are not treating this game any differently.
“No one is special, no one is different from each other,” Agyemang said. “We’re all college students, we’re all here for the same reasons. I don’t think, when we’re on, any team can stop us.”
Both teams will face off on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Hermann Stadium. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+.