Rhody soccer team scores on Senior Day
Joe Roberto
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
11/5/09 - Winning three of the last four matches, the University of Rhode Island men's soccer team continued to roll by, winning a close 1-0 game against Duquesne University.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first half and the Rams were outshot five shots to three. But in the 77th minute in the second half, junior Andres Ruiz fired a free kick and scored his second goal of the season, which eventually was the game-winning goal.
"The weekend was big and the win on Sunday was bigger considering the disappointment of the loss on Friday," head coach John O'Connor said. "It keeps us in the hunt for a berth in the A-10 tournament, which has always been our goal."
Pennock stepped up his game, stopping six shots to earn himself his fifth shutout in the season, and his 19th career shutout. He stopped three shots from Duquesne's leading scorer freshman forward Joshua Patterson. Patterson has six goals on the season and 12 points.
Rhode Island was outshot 13 shots to eight but held the advantage in corner kicks, outcornering Duquesne three to one.
With the win, the Rams improve their record to 7-8-1 and improve to 4-3 in A-10 match-ups. Duquesne drops to 8-7-2.
The Rams will be losing five players and their manager because of graduation. Manager Colleen Ryan and seniors Gary Crooks, Kevin Shaw, Domenic Petrarca and Chris Pennock were all honored before the game as part of senior day.
"It's not pride [our players] play with on senior day, but an extra incentive to send the seniors off with a bang, as these are guy's they have trained and played with day in and day out," O'Connor said. "They are friends and teammates so they want them to be happy."
The Rams will be back in action on Friday when they travel to George Washington University for a 7 p.m. matchup. GWU is 9-7 and is coming off a 1-0 victory against Richmond University.
With a win, the Rams clinch themselves a spot in the A-10 Tournament.
Both teams were held scoreless in the first half and the Rams were outshot five shots to three. But in the 77th minute in the second half, junior Andres Ruiz fired a free kick and scored his second goal of the season, which eventually was the game-winning goal.
"The weekend was big and the win on Sunday was bigger considering the disappointment of the loss on Friday," head coach John O'Connor said. "It keeps us in the hunt for a berth in the A-10 tournament, which has always been our goal."
Pennock stepped up his game, stopping six shots to earn himself his fifth shutout in the season, and his 19th career shutout. He stopped three shots from Duquesne's leading scorer freshman forward Joshua Patterson. Patterson has six goals on the season and 12 points.
Rhode Island was outshot 13 shots to eight but held the advantage in corner kicks, outcornering Duquesne three to one.
With the win, the Rams improve their record to 7-8-1 and improve to 4-3 in A-10 match-ups. Duquesne drops to 8-7-2.
The Rams will be losing five players and their manager because of graduation. Manager Colleen Ryan and seniors Gary Crooks, Kevin Shaw, Domenic Petrarca and Chris Pennock were all honored before the game as part of senior day.
"It's not pride [our players] play with on senior day, but an extra incentive to send the seniors off with a bang, as these are guy's they have trained and played with day in and day out," O'Connor said. "They are friends and teammates so they want them to be happy."
The Rams will be back in action on Friday when they travel to George Washington University for a 7 p.m. matchup. GWU is 9-7 and is coming off a 1-0 victory against Richmond University.
With a win, the Rams clinch themselves a spot in the A-10 Tournament.
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