The University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team traveled to Dayton, Ohio on Saturday to take on the University of Dayton Flyers to open Atlantic 10 conference play. The Flyers defeated the visiting Rams in a convincing 6-0 victory in which the Rams were ravaged by injuries.
Neither squad scored for the first 25 minutes, until Dayton fifth-year midfielder Hjalti Sigurdsson tapped in a header off of a corner kick. The ball bounced off of two other players before reaching Sigurdsson who netted the opportunity to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Flyers.
The game remained 1-0 for another 14 minutes until Sigurdsson struck again, this time off of a cross from second-year teammate Joseph Melto Quiah, which Sigurdsson finished with his right foot. Melto Quiah passed the ball to the midfielder after receiving the ball from a free kick.
After the second goal from the Flyers, the game remained 2-0 going into halftime. The Flyers dominated the first half with 15 shots compared to the Rams two. Rhode Island only had one shot on the target in the first 45 minutes compared to Dayton’s six. The Flyers also had seven corner kicks in the first half as they continued to get into the Rams’ final third of the field.
The second half began similar to the first, as the Flyers had chances early and struck 12 minutes into the second period of play. Melto Quiah scored in the 58th minute after a miscommunication between Rodiriguez and Rams fourth-year defender Vetle Nilsen that left the ball undefended for the Flyers attacker. The error left the net open for Quiah to put the ball into the bottom right corner. The goal made it 3-0 and put Rhode Island in their deepest deficit of the season until that point.
Just over a minute and a half later, Dayton scored again from fourth-year Kenji Mboma Dem off an assist from fifth-year forward Manny Day. Mboma Dem’s goal was only 94 seconds after the last. The goal followed a Rhody goal kick which the Flyers won possession of and took down the field to make the score 4-0.
URI Head Coach Gareth Elliot discussed the difference between play at home and away.
“Our level needs to be higher especially when we go on the road,” he said. “If you want to beat good teams you have to play at a higher level.”
The Flyers scored again in the 72nd minute, a second from Mboma Dem, a header from a cross. The play started as a Dayton goal kick which the Flyers took down the middle of the field and then passed outside to the right wing. First-year Martin Bakken got the ball on the wing and crossed it in for the assist, the first of his young career at the University of Dayton. The score made it 5-0 in favor of the home team from Ohio, putting the game out of reach for the Rams.
It did not get better for Rhody, as the Flyers netted another goal in the 85th minute, a third goal from Sigurdsson to complete the hat trick following a Dayton throw in. The second goal of the night came off of Sigurdsson’s right foot and finished into the lower corner of the net. The final score was 6-0 Dayton over URI, the worst loss for the Rhody Men’s soccer team since November 12, 2012 when Xavier beat the Rams 6-0 as well.
Elliot spoke after the game about the result on Saturday night in Dayton.
“That was the toughest result I can ever remember being a part of,” he said. “It was a very humbling experience last night, something we have to learn from, grow from.”
The Rams then traveled to Smithfield, RI to take on in-state rival Bryant University on Tuesday. The Bulldogs scored within the first 35 seconds of the match to take a 1-0 lead on a goal from fourth-year Ingio Villaldea. The first half ended with the same score of 1-0.
The second half is where it unraveled for the visiting Rams. Villaldea scored for the second time in the 51st minute to make it 2-0 in favor of Bryant. The game ended with a score in favor of Bryant 4-0 after a goal from Bulldogs third-year forward Marc Pitarch Bayot in the 64th minute and an own goal against the Rams with almost eight minutes remaining in the match.
Rhode Island was shutout 10-0 on their road trip and returned home with a record of 2-3-2 and 0-1 in the conference. The Rams next face off against A-10 rival La Salle at home on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m..