Oct. 3, 2009

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. - The Rhode Island men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with Binghamton, Saturday night in front of a record-setting crowd of 2,604 fans at the Bearcats Sports Complex.

The Rams (3-5-1) came out and pressured Binghamton early on, forcing goalkeeper Jason Stenta to make a pair of saves - on shots by sophomore Erkko Puranen (Viitasaari, Finland) and junior Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, Mass.) - within the first ten minutes of play.

URI got a little help from the crossbar in the 19th minute when a hard shot by Scott Zobre just barely missed the back of the net, keeping the game scoreless.

Rhody got on the board just three minutes into the second half when senior Kevin Shaw (Denny, Scotland) collected a loose ball in the box and sent a shot past Stenta to put the Rams in front 1-0. The goal was Shaw's first as a Ram.

Binghamton (5-4-1), however, evened the score exactly ten minutes later when Jake Keegan headed a service by Kyle Kucharski past senior goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Spennymoor, England) to make it a 1-1 game.

Pennock went on to stop two more BU attempts and another shot by Zober deflected off the crossbar, ending regulation in a 1-1 tie.

With less than 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime period, it appeared as though freshman Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, N.J.) would end Binghamton's 25-game unbeaten streak in regular-season home games - but his shot went over Stenta and off the crossbar to end the game in a 1-1 draw.

For the game, the Rams held a 7-5 advantage in both shots on goal and corner kicks. Pennock finished with four saves while Stenta recorded six.

The Rams are back in action next weekend when they open up Atlantic 10 play at Dayton on Friday night.