The University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team extended its winning streak to five games with a 5-0 win over La Salle University on Saturday, then snapped that streak with a 3-2 loss to the University of Dayton.
Saturday’s game against La Salle University was the second of a doubleheader with the women’s team playing earlier that afternoon. URI first-year Molly Merkel got the Rams on the board quickly with a strike one minute, 37 seconds into the match.
URI fifth-year midfielder Tiago Barriguinha managed to one-up Merkel by scoring 1:02 after kickoff. Barriguinha’s score seemingly foreshadowed the offensive onslaught the Rams brought to the Explorers.
La Salle put up five shots on goal in the following 20 minutes, all of which were saved by URI third-year goalkeeper William Synnestvedt, who finished the game with eight saves.
In the 30th minute, following a frantic fight for control in front of the net, Rhody fourth-year midfielder Connor Froberg slid through the crowd of players and knocked the ball past La Salle fifth-year goalkeeper Maximilian Retzer for a 2-0 lead.
The Explorers didn’t put up another shot attempt in the first half following Froberg’s goal. While the Rams got two attempts off, neither was close to the net.
In the 57th minute, third-year forward Theo Harris controlled the cross from third-year defensive back Cassidy Tanddo in the center of the box. Harris spun left to shake off his defender and perfectly placed his shot in the bottom right corner to give URI a 3-0 lead.
Rhody second-year Maksim Kalina, who was looking for his third goal in two games, seemingly had his best shot in the 70th minute when he had a one-on-one matchup with Retzer, but Retzer came away with the save.
Kalina made sure not to make the same mistake twice, as in the 76th and 80th minutes Kalina found himself all alone with Retzer as the Explorers’ last defender and chipped the ball over his head both times to give URI the 5-0 lead and victory.
Just like the blistering wind on Wednesday, URI was cooled down after the Flyers came from down 2-1 with eight minutes remaining to steal the victory and three points in the standings.
Both teams failed to create meaningful opportunities throughout the beginning of the first half until the 25th minute. Flyers’ fourth-year midfielder Miles Bonham broke the scoreless tie with the first shot on goal for either team.
Seven minutes later, Rhody’s resilience, which the team showed numerous times throughout the winning streak, came through once again.
In the 32nd minute, URI fourth-year forward Daniel Goba scored the equalizer. It was Goba’s first goal since undergoing brain surgery after he was diagnosed with cancer.
“It meant a lot,” Goba said. “Obviously, in an Atlantic 10 game every goal is significant, and when we were down, it felt good to equalize the game and give us a little bit of momentum.”
Both Goba and second-year forward Luca Krause, who got the assist with his cross into the box, were subbed on less than 30 seconds prior.
Early in the second half, the Rams pulled ahead with a goal from first-year Luca Mueller. Rhody continued to put offensive pressure on the Flyers but was unable to put shots on goal anymore.
From the 53rd minute to the 82nd minute, Dayton managed to muster two shots on goal, with both being saved by Synnestvedt. It was in the 82nd minute that the momentum swung in Dayton’s favor with a goal from fourth-year forward Cooper Lijewski to bring the squads level.
That momentum stayed in Dayton’s favor as three minutes later, Flyers’ third-year defensive back Chase Jackson scored the game-winner as the bleachers at the URI Soccer Complex fell silent in shock.
“Just got to defend a little bit better,” head coach Gareth Elliott said. “I thought they put a lot of pressure down the right side, and eventually it paid off. So, we just got to seal the game out a little better.”
The Rams are now level with Duquesne University atop the A-10 standings.
