Men’s Soccer suffers first loss of season to Dayton

18th ranked Flyers end Rhody’s undefeated streak

Patrick Agyemang was held to zero goal contributions for the first time in conference play. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com

It was a tough Saturday night for the University of Rhode Island’s men’s soccer team, who saw their unbeaten start to the season come to an end as they fell to the nationally-ranked University of Dayton Flyers, 2-0.

The Rams, who were looking to continue their best start to a season since 1995, were coming off of a 5-3 home win vs. the University of Albany. Dayton, who were also unbeaten coming to Kingston, had just recorded a 1-1 tie vs. St. Joseph’s. 

Dayton were the third nationally-ranked opponent to come up against Rhode Island this season, and the first the Rams had faced at home, with previous meetings against ranked opponents ending in a 1-1 tie at Penn State and a 2-0 win at Hofstra for Rhody. 

The game got off to a fast-paced start, with both teams seeing their fair share of offensive possession in the first half. However, it was ultimately defense that told the story, as neither side was able to find much in the way of direct goal scoring opportunities through the first 40 minutes. The Flyers outshot the Rams 6-4, with each keeper only forced into 2 saves apiece through the first 45.

Following several defensive issues vs. Albany, URI defender Zach Drayer emphasized the importance of staying strong in the back from the beginning.

“We were really trying to focus on staying defensively compact,” Drayer said. “Dayton’s a team that, if you give them a lot of time and space, they have players that can really drive, they can go in at full speed, and it’s very difficult to play one vs. one, so we were trying to stay compact and get players around the ball.”

It was ultimately Dayton who found the back of the net first in the dying minutes of the first half. With just 3 minutes left to play in the first 45, Casper Svendy picked up the ball off of a URI clearance and sent it back into the box almost 30 yards from goal. Manny Day rose above everyone in the box with a header that redirected the ball goalwards, over Max Hinke and into the net to give the Flyers the 1-0 advantage. 

Things went from bad to worse for Rhode Island just 41 seconds into the second half, when a late foul from graduate defender Jordan Koduah was enough to earn him a second yellow and a subsequent red card dismissal. Forced to play the remaining 44 minutes down a man and down a goal, the Rams were truly in unfamiliar territory at home.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, URI refused to take their foot off the gas, outshooting Dayton 7-5 and putting five shots on net compared to Dayton’s three. Dayton goalkeeper Dario Caetano was forced into seven saves on the night to preserve the clean sheet for the Flyers, while freshman Max Hinke pushed away four shots in goal for the Rams.

“[When] we’re down a man, it’s an uphill battle,” Head Coach Gareth Elliott said. “But after that I think our guys really fought hard and worked hard, and moved the ball around, and created a few half-chances. Maybe nothing great, but definitely some opportunities where we could’ve scored.”

With the game still tight with three minutes to go, it was another late goal that sealed the win for the Flyers. With URI sending all their numbers forward in an attempt to equalize with just three minutes to go, Ousseynou Cisse took advantage of the open space and broke through on goal. He eventually beat Hinke from close range to make it 2-0 in the 87th minute, topping off a huge road win for Dayton and continuing their unbeaten start to the season, handing URI their first loss in the process. 

It was also the first time this season that the Rams have been held scoreless, but Elliott felt the Rams made the necessary risks late, even with ten men. 

“When you’re down 1-0 late in the game, you’ve got to take some risks,” Elliott said. “So, we took some risks, and unfortunately they capitalized with a second one [goal] late. But you might as well get beat [by] six if you get beat [by] one, it’s a loss.”

The Rams will look to rebound from their first loss as they continue Atlantic-10 play in Richmond, Va. on Saturday, as they take on Virginia Commonwealth University at 7 p.m.