Loss to Davidson ends Atlantic 10 tournament for Rams
Zach Drayer finishes his Rhody career with 53 games played and two years as captain for the Rams. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
A promising season has come to an abrupt end.
After a 2-0 loss at Brown on Oct. 26, the University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team fell in a heartbreaker, dropping an upset loss Saturday to the Davidson Wildcats 2-0 and falling out of Atlantic 10 playoff contention.
With a Rams’ loss and victories from La Salle and George Washington Saturday, they finished the season tied for ninth in the A-10 with 10 total points, coming up just short of the eight-team tournament pool. This marks the first season the Rams missed the postseason since 2013; URI Head Coach Gareth Elliott’s first year at the helm.
Rhody’s contest against Brown served as the team’s final non-conference matchup, not holding any playoff implications. With the Rams giving some extra rest to their starters, the Bears went on to force a shutout, as Michael Chung put Brown ahead in the first half before a goal from Langdon Gryglas in the second helped seal a Bears victory.
It all came down to Saturday’s regular season finale against the Wildcats. Davidson wasted no time putting the pressure on, as Denis Krioutchenkov – the Wildcats’ scoring leader entering the match – nearly got on the board on a dangerous shot before Rhody freshman goalkeeper Max Hinke made the diving save. From there, it was the Rams who found themselves with the most opportunities. Ten minutes into the match, graduate defender Jordan Koduah had a clear window to the corner of the net, but missed just inches left of the post. Just minutes later, another close call came in the form of a free kick from graduate midfielder Edvin Akselsen. The Oslo, Norway native’s kick bounced just off the front of the post before a follow-up shot from junior forward Rafa Villanueva landed in the waiting arms of Davidson goalkeeper Lou Liedtka.
Davidson struck first in the 31st minute, and it was the freshman Krioutchenkov adding to his season total via penalty kick. A yellow card on Hinke set up the attempt, and Krioutchenkov was able to place the shot just past Hinke’s outstretched fingertips to put his team on the board 1-0.
The score held until the early moments of the second half. Just 34 seconds after the intermission, a cluster in the box allowed Davidson’s Alonzo Clarke to sneak a close shot into the back of the net, doubling the Wildcat lead.
From there, the Davidson defense closed out the victory. Rhody took 22 total shots – nine on goal – and came up empty each time. Liedtka was responsible for eight of the Wildcats’ nine saves, seemingly having an answer to everything the Rams threw at him.
“They fought, they didn’t give us anything easy,” Elliott said. “Every ball in the air, every ball on the ground, it was being challenged, it was being challenged hard.”
Surprisingly, Rhody’s leading goal scorer in redshirt-senior forward Patrick Agyemang was virtually shut down offensively throughout the night. The East Hartford, Conneticuit native did not record a shot until the 86th minute – and by then, it was already too late.
“Pat, for the last two years, has been the focal point of our attack,” Elliott said. “He’s obviously going to be a massive loss for us, he had a great career for his time here.”
When the final whistle blew, the emotions began flying for the Rams. Several players fell to the ground in disbelief, with others trying to soak in their last experience in a Rams uniform Agyemang sat in silence on the bench for several minutes after the game before eventually being the last player to leave the field.
Saturday’s loss marked the final action for a number of key contributors over the years, including Agyemang, Akselsen, Koduah, defender and two-time captain Zach Drayer, as well as forward Braeden Cannon. According to Elliott, nobody on the team took the loss harder than the seniors.
“The last loss always stings,” he said. “And when it’s at home, and it’s a regular season game, it stings even more because that hasn’t been the case too often.”
For Drayer, it was not the “storybook” ending that he envisioned having for his career. But looking ahead, he knows his legacy will carry on beyond his playing days in the form of his younger teammates who will be returning for future seasons.
“To me, I’ve had my time, I’ve won championships when I was younger,” Drayer said. “I think what kept me going is that I was trying to win something for them. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have a reason.”