The University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team split a pair of games this week against the University of Connecticut and the College of the Holy Cross.
During the action on Thursday, Sept. 11, Rhode Island fought to stick with UConn until the Huskies struck first on a goal from fourth-year forward Chioma Okafor in the 15th minute.
The game remained tight for most of the first half, with UConn holding on to a one-goal lead. UConn came out aggressively in the second half, and it resulted in the team netting their second goal of the game by fourth-year forward Abby Merchant in the 46th minute.
The Rams struggled to get momentum going, as they weren’t able to get a goal past the stout UConn defense. Rhode Island took out its frustration on the Huskies late when third-year Adia Name got called for a late slide, resulting in a yellow card for the Rams in the 76th minute. In the end, UConn came out victorious with a 2-0 shutout.
“We need to be more aggressive and get more shots on goal,” fifth-year midfielder Mie Carstensen said.
Carstensen led all URI players with six shots on goal in the contest.
“It’s a good team to play, and you learn a lot from those games,” URI Head Coach Megan Jessee said. “It’s a quick turnaround, so I hope we learn our lessons, like we did in the Brown [University] game, and do the same here.”
Heading into Sunday’s action, Rhode Island looked to recover from the loss as it traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts to take on Holy Cross. In this matchup, both defenses came to play, and neither side could get on the board in the first half.
The Rams outshot the Crusaders 8-4 in the first half, and both teams were showing a lot of physicality, as URI and Holy Cross combined for 15 fouls in the first half alone.
In the second half, it was more of the same; the defenses stepped up for Rhode Island and Holy Cross and kept this a scoreless contest for most of the game.
Rhode Island controlled more of the possession, outshooting Holy Cross 9-3 in the second half and 17-7 on the day.
It took a while, but in the 88th minute, the Rams struck gold with a goal from third-year defenseman Lily Camacho to give them the 1-0 lead.
This lead ultimately stuck the rest of the way, as Rhody was able to pull out a key road win against Holy Cross.
Rhode Island will look to continue its winning ways with the start of conference play this week. Next up, the Rams travel to Philadelphia, where they will take on Saint Joseph’s University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
