The University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team traveled to take on Saint Joseph’s University on Saturday in a conference matchup, where the Rams dropped a nail-biter to the Hawks.
It was Saint Joseph’s who got the scoring going right out of the gate when fifth-year Tommaso Rossetto scored 6:49 into the first half to put the Hawks up 1-0.
Rhode Island responded just under eight minutes later when second-year Theo Harris added a tally of his own to knot the score at 1-1. For Harris, this was his team-leading fifth goal of the season, as he is now tied with first-year Kyler Vojvodic for the most goals on URI.
The rest of the first half was quiet as both teams’ defenses stepped up and neither side could crack the scoreboard. URI outshot Saint Joseph’s 10-6 in a closely contested battle throughout the first half.
As the second half began, both teams looked for momentum. It was Saint Joseph’s who grabbed the lead right back in the 61st minute when first-year Cristian Oliveira scored his first collegiate goal to give the Hawks a 2-1 advantage.
URI kept searching for answers but could not find any throughout the second half, as the Saint Joseph’s defense was able to keep them off the scoreboard despite the Rams outshooting the Hawks 17-10.
Things got chippy toward the end of this match, with the Hawks picking up three yellow cards and the Rams receiving two yellow cards in the final 20 minutes. URI fourth-year Joan Sanchis was also ejected due to a red card in the 86th minute.
Harris talked about what the team needs to do better moving forward to be able to win these close games.
“We need to play together and finish our chances,” Harris said. “Overall we need to defend better.”
With two games left in the regular season, the Rams sit in eighth place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings, with the top eight teams making the A-10 Tournament.
“These last two games are the most important games of the season so far,” Harris said. “We need six points and to win both games in order to get a spot in the playoffs.”
This stretch will begin on Saturday when Rhode Island takes on Virginia Commonwealth University at 7 p.m. at the URI Soccer Complex.
