Nov. 11, 2004

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island men's soccer team, which led the Atlantic 10 in scoring and is tied for fifth in the nation in total goals, couldn't find the back of the net Thursday as the Rams lost to George Washington 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

The defending Atlantic 10 Champion Rams had hopes of repeating their three-game winning streak to the title last year, but host George Washington became just the second team to shutout the Rams all season.

The only other time the Rams were held scoreless this season came in a 3-0 loss to Oregon State on Sept. 19. It was the first time an Atlantic 10 opponent blanked the Rams since St. Bonaventure did so on Oct. 24, 2003.

Thursday's game was even in just about every aspect except the final score. The two teams each took seven shots in the first half and seven shots in the second half for identical totals of 14 for the game. Each team took four corner kicks, while Rhode Island goalkeeper Dean Ruddy (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) and George Washington's Derek Biss made five apiece.

George Washington had six shots on goal compared to Rhode Island's five on goal. That one extra shot on goal proved to be the difference as Frank Ambrosio's shot from the right side found the far upper corner of the net with 23:41 remaining in the game. George Washington's Jeremiah Burke and Trevor Martin had the assists.

The Rams finish the season 12-8-1 overall, after posting a 6-4-1 record in conference play. It was Rhode Island's seventh-straight winning season and ninth in the last 10 years.

Just two weeks ago, Rhody was within 3:54 of taking over first-place in the Atlantic 10 in an Oct. 29 showdown with first-place Duquesne, but Rhody let a 1-0 lead slip away and then lost in overtime. After the devastating loss to the Dukes, who went on to win the Atlantic 10 regular season crown, Rhody suffered a 2-1 loss to St. Bonaventure which further dropped the Rams in the standings.

In a repeat of last season, the Rams did defeat Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 regular season finale to earn a berth in the conference tournament for the eighth time in the last 10 years, but Rhody couldn't duplicate its run to the title.

Senior Sasha Gotsmanov (Woodbury, Minn.), the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, finished the regular season leading both the conference and the entire country in total goals (19) and total points (46). Gotsmanov finishes his career fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 89 points, fifth all-time in goals with 35, and tied for ninth in assists with 19.

Sophomore Jeffrey Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors after finishing second in the conference behind Gotsmanov with 26 points and nine goals, and tied for third in the A-10 with eight assists.

Junior Simon Gatti (Welland, Ontario) joined Gonsalves on the All-Atlantic 10 second team, while freshman Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and freshman Dawid Badecki (Jelenia Gora, Poland) joined Borman on the conference's All-Rookie Team.

Head coach Ed Bradley became Rhode Island's all-time coaching wins leader, passing Geza Henni who had 175 wins at URI. Bradley also picked up the 200th collegiate victory of his 19-year career. He finishes the season with a 206-138-35 overall record and a 179-129-21 mark at Rhody.

Gotsmanov will graduate, but the rest of the starting line-up returns for the 2005 season. Seniors Emerson Aquilera (Tulsa, Okla.), a three-year starter, and Mohamed Keita (Lanham, Md.), a two-year starter, were both hindered by injuries in their final season in Kingston.

Aquilera, who was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team for the second-straight season, finished his career in a tie for 45th on the Rhode Island all-time scoring list with 28 points, and tied for seventh all-time with 20 assists. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team last season in helping the Rams to the championship.

Keita also was named to the 2003 Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team after scoring the game-winning goal in both the semifinals and the finals.