Spring Break
Men's soccer boots past Temple, St. Joe's in weekend showdowns [P]
Matt Pavao
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Sports
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Head coach John O'Connor was pleased with the team's play but noted that team team didn't come out fast in either game.
"They had a slow start [Friday]," he said. "I don't think any of us were happy with that. We fell asleep in the first half and we knew that and I think some of that carried over into the next game. We had a slow start [Sunday] as well."
On Friday, the Rams got an early lead when Temple misplayed the ball in its box and scored on themselves four minutes into the game. They were able to make up for the own goal and tie the game 14 minutes later when a Temple forward was able to beat freshman goalkeeper Chris Pennock for the score.
Rhode Island came out like a new team in the second half and controlled the game, out shooting the opponent 8-1 and not allowing a shot on net. In the 73rd minute the Rams' offense finally beat the Temple goalkeeper when midfielder Dawid Badecki took a pass from forward Lukasz Tumicz and put in the lower left corner of the net for the game winner.
"We played well in the second half with much better energy," O'Connor said.
The Rams were more than capable of scoring their own goals against St. Josephs on Sunday, scoring six goals in a game for the second time this season.
O'Connor was happy with how the team played.
"Overall, it was a good performance," he said.
St. Josephs was recently ranked 195 out of 199 NCAA Division I soccer teams, but the Hawks gave URI an early scare by scoring first.
In the eighth minute of the game Pennock got caught at the top of the box after a poor clearance and a St. Josephs player shot the ball from far out into the empty net for the score.
