Nov. 6, 2009

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Rhode Island men's soccer team downed George Washington, 4-1, Friday afternoon, guaranteeing the Rams a 6th-place or better finish in the league standings as well as a spot in the A-10 Championship - which will take place at the URI Soccer Complex, next weekend.

GW (9-8-0, 3-5-0) jumped out to an early lead when senior Hermann Trophy candidate Andy Stadler volleyed a shot into the lower left corner to put the Colonials in front, 1-0, at the 14:39 mark.

Rhode Island (8-8-1, 5-3-0), however, would go on to score four unanswered goals to lock up the win.

Junior Andres Ruiz (Providence, R.I.) knotted things up in the 42nd minute when he found the back of the net on a rebound shot, following classmate Dwayne Williams' (Westmoreland, Jamaica) header which was stopped by GW keeper Erik Haug.

Williams went on to put URI ahead just two minutes later when he headed a free kick from senior Gary Crooks (Falkirk, Scotland) past Haug for the 2-1 advantage.

After the break, Ruiz struck again - this time scoring on a set piece from 25 yards out.

Freshman Jamie Eckmayer (Harrington Park, N.J.) tallied the Rams' final goal of the afternoon in the 87th minute, beating Haug on a cross from classmate Thomas Lindroos (Espoo, Finland). Sophomore Franco Lo Presti (Whitby, Ontario) also picked up an assist on the play, feeding the ball to Lindroos after a GW turnover near midfield.

As a team, Rhody held an 18-14 advantage in shots as well as a 5-4 edge in corners.

Senior goalkeeper Chris Pennock (Spennymoor, England) turned away four GW shots while Haug finished with six saves on the day.

The Rams are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they close out the regular season with a 1 p.m. Game at Richmond.