Spring Break
Puranen comes through in thrilling overtime victory
Kevin Zagrodny
Issue date: 9/18/08 Section: Sports
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The Rams were back in action at the URI Soccer Complex looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing 4-0 loss at Boston University last Sunday.
"We came into this game more focused and that was the key," said head coach John O'Connor.
Harvard was denied its shot at a third straight victory as the Rams won a defensive battle in sudden death overtime.
Neither team saw a shot on goal until a Harvard attempt 15 minutes into the contest. URI failed to have a shot on goal until 21 minutes into the first half.
Just 1:42 into overtime, freshman forward Erkko Pruanen got a breakaway chance and came through in the clutch. Coming down the right side he banked in his third goal of the year on the left side of the net. The team ran out to its freshman hero to after improving their record to 3-2 overall.
"[Pruanen] is extremely explosive and the other coaches say that he has a second gear that he only uses when he needs it," explained O'Connor.
Dilon O'Neil of Harvard had an opportunity with an open shot almost midway through the first half. Rams junior defensemen Domenic Petrarca stepped in with the save preventing any chance of a Crimson goal. The ball switched zones back and forth most of the half, and shots were hard to come by. With 13:35 remaining in the first half Harvard's senior captain Michael Fucito sped past all Rhode Island defenders, but shot it just over the cross bar.
Frustration took over Fucito and the rest of the Crimson team as they missed opportunities left and right. For the last five minutes in the first half the Rams seemed to have lost a step on defense and struggled to keep it out of their zone. They did manage one attempt by Harvard sophomore Jonathan Periera as a header missed just wide at the two-minute mark.
