GAME NOTES
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Nov. 15, 2006
RHODE ISLAND vs. LEHIGH... The Rhode Island men's soccer team will face Lehigh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. It marks the first time the teams have ever met. The Mountain Hawks enter the game with a 15-1-2 record while the Rams are 12-5-5.
VERSUS COMMON OPPONENTS... Rutgers is the only team that both Rhode Island and Lehigh have faced this season. Rhody tied the Scarlet Knights, 1-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round with a 4-2 shootout victory. When Lehigh faced Rutgers on Sept. 1, the Mountain Hawks were handed their only loss of the season - a 2-0 defeat in Piscataway, N.J. Since falling to the Scarlet Knights, Lehigh has remained undefeated over 16 games with a 14-0-2 record.
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS... Rhode Island has posted a 2-1 record against teams ranked in last week's NSCAA/adidas and Soccer America polls while the Mountain Hawks have not faced any teams in the Top 25. URI split games with No. 7/20 Saint Louis (L, 3-1 / W, 2-0) and defeated No. 13/16 Harvard (2-1).
VERSUS TEAMS IN THE 2006 NCAA TOURNAMENT... Rhode Island has posted a 3-2-2 record against teams in the 2006 NCAA Tournament while Lehigh is 2-1-2. URI defeated Harvard (2-1) and Providence (2-1), split games with Saint Louis (L, 3-1 / W, 2-0), fell to Old Dominion (1-0, OT) and tied Brown (3-3) and Rutgers (1-1). The Mountain Hawks defeated Adelphi (2-0) and Bucknell (2-0), lost to Rutgers (2-0) and tied Binghamton (0-0) and Bucknell (1-1 in the Patriot League Semifinals - Bucknell advanced with a 4-1 shootout victory).
IN THE NCAA FIRST ROUND... The 24th-ranked Rhode Island men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 double overtime tie with Rutgers before going on to seal the victory with a 4-2 advantage in the penalty kick shootout. With their first win over the Scarlet Knights since October 14, 1986, the Rams advance to the second round of the NCAA for the first time since the 2000 season when the team made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Rhody took the lead just 5:41 into the match when senior Jeffrey Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) tallied his team-leading 18th goal of the season. The Rams moved the ball up the field after freshman goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Middlesborough, England) pulled down a Rutgers corner kick and threw the ball out to Gonsalves. Gonsalves dribbled the ball down the left side of the field and sent a pass to junior Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa) who crossed another pass to classmate Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) in the right corner of the field. Tumicz drew the Scarlet Knights' keeper towards him before sending a pass to the far post. Junior Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) trapped the ball and tapped a quick pass to the center of the goal where Gonsalves snuck a shot past Matt VanOekel for the 1-0 advantage. The Scarlet Knights countered with a goal of their own with just 7:30 left in the first half when Nick LaBrocca blasted a shot into the top left corner of the net from 30 yards out, knotting the score at 1-1. Rhody had an excellent shot at a go-ahead goal eight minutes into the second half when sophomore Kevin Hamill (Easton, Conn.) set Borman up with a breakaway ball. Borman took the ball in towards the goal but was robbed by VanOekel before taking a solid shot. The Rams had a few more opportunities in the second half when Cameron drilled a shot on goal that was blocked by an RU defender in the 72nd minute. Junior Steve Mellen (North Kingstown, R.I.) collected the ball and fired off another quick shot that VanOekel was able to get his hands on. A minute and a half later, Cameron had a great look at the top right corner but shot the ball just wide of the post. After two scoreless overtime periods, the game moved into a decisive five-round penalty kick shootout. Rutgers shot first and LaBrocca got the ball past Pennock. Junior Dawid Badecki (Jelenia Gora, Poland) evened things up for Rhody with a shot that bounced off the inside of the right post and into the back of the net. The Scarlet Knights sent Michael Crowley to the line next and the Rams caught a break when Crowley's shot sailed up over the crossbar. Tumicz followed with a shot that beat VanOekel and gave URI a 2-1 advantage. Chris Moore went on to score for Rutgers and Cameron netted a goal for Rhode Island, for a 3-2 Rhody lead after three rounds. Pennock came up huge making a diving save on Bart Koffeman's shot and junior Callum Bissett (Pencaitland, Scotland) followed with the goal that sealed the win for Rhode Island.
IN THE ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT... Rhode Island posted a 1-0 win over third-seeded Richmond in the Atlantic 10 Semifinals on Nov. 3. Danleigh Borman scored the loan goal for Rhody, an unassisted tally for the 1-0 win. In the Championship match, the Rams cruised to a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Saint Louis. Jeffrey Gonsalves scored the first goal of the game while Lukasz Tumicz netted the insurance goal on a pass from Danleigh Borman. The win marked the second-consecutive season that Rhode Island defeated SLU in the A-10 Championship game as the Rams tied Billikens through two overtimes last season before clinching the tournament title with a 5-4 shootout victory.
A-10 ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMERS... Five Rams were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship squad: Danleigh Borman, Jeffrey Gonsalves, Geoffrey Cameron, Callum Bissett and Adam Howarth. Additionally, Borman was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
NATIONAL HONORS... Geoffrey Cameron, Danleigh Borman and Jeffrey Gonsalves each earned national recognition this season. Most recently, Cameron was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the week on Nov. 12, after recording an assist and netting his penalty kick in the third round of the match-deciding shootout at Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 11. Borman was named to the Soccer America and College Soccer News National Teams of the Week after his performance at the Atlantic 10 Championship. Gonsalves has continuously been compared to the nation's best, claiming a spot on College Soccer News' 2006 Preseason All-American Third Team, as well as being named to CSN's National Team of the Week, Soccer America's National Team of the Week and SoccerTimes.com's National Honor Roll throughout the season. The senior forward also landed a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Season First Team.
AMONG THE BEST... Jeffrey Gonsalves and Lukasz Tumicz currently rank among the nation's top offensive players. Gonsalves is 9th in the country with .82 goals per game and 12th in points per game, averaging 1.82. Tumicz is tied for 12th overall with .50 assists per game.
