The University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team translated nonconference success into Atlantic 10 Conference action on Saturday, picking up a 1-0 shutout victory over Saint Joseph’s University.
Opening conference play with a win for the second season in a row, the Rams took their sixth shutout of the year and seventh victory overall.
“We’ve established a certain way of how we want to play,” Rhode Island Head Coach Megan Jessee said. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
Rhode Island sat one spot behind St. Joe’s in the A-10’s preseason coaches poll and played an even first half. Both teams logged six shots, with URI third-year keeper Dani Eden being the busier goalie, making five saves.
“We started off a little slow in the first half,” Jessee said. “They were the more physical team; they were being more aggressive, so it kind of put us on the back foot.
The Rams racked up 14 shots in the second half, forcing the Hawks to make seven saves.
“In the second half, when we were the more physical team, and we were being more aggressive and pushing them back,” Jessee said. “I think they struggled to find their way, so we were able to just pounce on them.”
The second half quickly saw the game’s lone score, as Rhode Island fifth-year Mie Carstensen and fourth-year McKenna Sylvester traded passes inside the 18-yard box before the latter buried the score into the upper 90 of the net in the 47th minute. For Sylvester, it was her team-leading fourth goal of the season after being scoreless in her career before this year.
“It’s been great to see; [Sylvester’s] been very effective,” Jessee said. “I’m glad she’s finally playing with confidence. You can tell she’s much more aggressive, much more decisive in what she’s doing on the field.”
Eden has stepped up this season as the team’s top goaltender, starting in all nine games. Last year, she posted a shutout in her only game before suffering a season-ending injury.
“We’ve seen what she could do [last season],” Jessee said. “We knew there was potential there, and this is what we were hoping to see.”
Her injury held her out of action for six months, but she took the time to build back and reprove herself to the coaching staff.
“I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way [from starting in goal again], no matter if I got hurt last year,” Eden said.
The Rams’ defense left little for Eden to deal with in the second half, allowing just one shot on goal.
“I’m a pretty confident player to begin with,” Eden said. “It’s honestly thanks to my defense; they make it easy for me.”
With the win, the Rams have already secured their best road record since 2014 at 4-1. Rhody has seen plenty of success at home as well, going 3-1 halfway through the regular season, along with matching their win total as a whole from last year.
“One of the biggest things with this team is how consistent they are with everything they do,” Jessee said. “We’ve found ways to win, even in ugly games and on different surfaces as well. I just think we’re in a good spot right now.”
Rhody finding a way to win has them as the top team in the A-10 in overall record, but they will have to continue to take strides in conference play to compete for a position in the postseason for the third time in Jessee’s tenure.
“We can’t be satisfied; there’s a lot of things we could have done better at Saint Joe’s,” Jessee said. “We have to get off to a better start…We need to dominate from the very beginning.”
URI returns to Kingston for its first home in-conference matchup against La Salle University on Thursday. The tilt will kick off at 7 p.m.
