Box Score

How It Happened:

After a scoreless first half, UNH's Brad Hilton put the Wildcats up, 1-0, in the 56th minute. Rhody senior Franco Lo Presti then converted a header (off of a restart by freshman Matt Sykes) to even the score with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, but New Hampshire's Ugochukwu Uche tallied an unassisted goal in the 89th minute to secure the win.

Inside the Box Score:

• The Rams held the offensive advantage, outshooting the Wildcats, 13-10, and attempting seven corner kicks to just one for UNH.
• Matt Sykes tallied an assist and led the team with four shots (two on-goal). Matt Ribbens attempted three shots.
• Redshirt senior goalkeeper Peyton Warwick made four saves for URI while New Hampshire's Travis Worra turned away two Rhody attempts.
• There were eight total yellow cards in the game - four for each side.
• Rhody was forced to play a man-down for the final 30 minutes as Ribbens picked up back-to-back yellow cards at 52:48 and 59:37.

Additional Notes:

• Rhode Island drops its first game of the season and its 10th straight contest away from Kingston dating back to last season.
• The loss is URI's second straght setback in a season-opener as the Rams fell to Providence, 2-1, in the first match of the 2010 season.
• Junior Tim Dragon recorded his first start as a Ram in the loss at UNH.
• Freshmen Alan Hernandez and Matt Sykes both earned the start in their collegiate debuts. Classmates Ross Morison and Mike Casey also saw action off the bench.
• Junior Robby Gargaro has not missed a game - or a start - since joining the Rams in 2009. As a freshman, he started in each of URI's 20 matches and went on to start all 18 games last season. Friday's contest at UNH extended Gargaro's streak to 39 consecutive starts.
• With the loss, URI drops to 15-14-1 all time against New Hampshire.

Up Next:
Rhode Island's Sunday matchup against Vermont was postponed due to Hurricane Irene, but has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 30 at 3 p.m. at the URI Soccer Complex.