On Oct. 3, the University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team had a night so historically dominant that the program hasn’t seen anything like it in nearly two decades.
The University of Richmond Spiders traveled to Kingston, Rhode Island and left with a 6-0 loss at the hands of the Rams. Rhode Island scored four of those six goals in the first half, something they haven’t done since 2013. Rhode Island hadn’t scored four goals in any match since 2017, meaning a victory of this magnitude was a first for URI Head Coach Megan Jessee.
“It was great, it’s been 19 years since we had a win like that,” Jessee said. “It was good to put all the pieces together, it was just a lot of fun and a lot of players got to contribute which was awesome.”
The Rams also took on the top team in the Atlantic 10, Dayton University, following the win over Richmond. The Flyers entered the match with 10 more goals than anyone else in the A-10. The Flyers were averaging almost three goals a match and Rhode Island held them to just one in a narrow 1-0 loss. In her first career start for the Rams, first-year goalkeeper Chelsea Mohammad made seven saves, and the lone Dayton goal came from a penalty kick.
“I know we didn’t get the win out in Dayton but I thought both performances were good,” Jessee said. “We were pretty aggressive against their backline, we forced a lot of turnovers and they didn’t get any clean chances.”
The Rams defense has improved throughout the course of the season, according to Jessee, as they haven’t allowed a goal during the run of open play in their conference schedule. Although the Rams are 2-3 in A-10 play, they lost all three of those matches by one goal.
“We’ve been very good defensively, not just our backline and goalkeeper but as a whole team,” Jessee said. “We’ve really committed from the front back and I think we’ve caused teams a lot of trouble.”
Against Richmond, the Rams played 21 total players, making 10 substitutions. The lone player to play all 90 minutes was second-year goalkeeper Dani Eden. In her first career start she maintained a clean sheet and made eight saves.
The offensive output from the Rams in the match against Richmond was truly historic. Eight players had a shot on goal, two players scored two goals, two players recorded two assists, and all but six players had a shot. The Rams had 25 shots in this match, marking the first time the Rams shot the ball more than 20 times in a single game since 2016.
Up until this point in the season, the Rams had only scored multiple goals in a single match, back on Sept. 15 vs. Boston University in a 3-2 win. This match also provided a launchpad for fourth-year forward Tierra Garniss to show that she is completely back in form after suffering an ACL injury in the previous season, scoring three goals in her last two games.
Garniss only played in two matches last season and this year she has slowly made her way back to full strength, according to Jessee. Garniss recorded his first goal in the prior match, but in this one she confidently controlled the ball and found the back of the net twice.
“She is just over a year out of surgery at this point and I think she’s really starting to click,” Jessee said. “She is very good at holding up the ball and bullying defenders, defensive wise she is very good at cutting off half the field and stripping defenders.”
Another Ram who had a two-goal day was Courtney Poon, marking the first brace of her career. Poon has shifted positions this season and is now primarily playing the midfield, and Jessee said she has been extremely happy with the steps she has taken to become a more well rounded player.
Poon’s defensive capabilities have taken a noticeable step forward, according to Jessee. This has resulted in Poon starting every match this season while only playing 634 minutes the year prior.
Jessee has been pleased with the defensive effort and improvements made by her team throughout the season. Currently the Rams rank top five in the conference for goals allowed and save rate.
The Rams will continue their A-10 schedule on the road against Fordham University on Sunday at 1 p.m. Fordham is 8-3-3 on the season and currently sits fourth in the A-10, while URI currently sits at 10th. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.