How It Happened:

With six minutes remaining in regulation, Rhode Island junior Jamie Eckmayer sent his first goal of the season past Holy Cross goalkeeper Evan Polanik to give the Rams a 2-1 victory on Saturday night at the URI Soccer Complex. Senior Reece Markman picked up an assist on the tally. URI had taken a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes in when freshman Ross Morison scored off of a feed from classmate Matt Sykes, but the Crusaders battled back and knotted the score at 1-1 in the 71st minute.

Inside the Box Score:

• With the win, Rhode Island improves to 3-4-0 on the season while Holy Cross drops to 0-5-2.
• Both teams attempted 12 shots throughout regulation, but Rhode Island held a 9-8 edge in shots on goal.
• The Rams out-cornered the Crusaders, 5-3. All five of Rhody's attempts came in the second half.
• The two teams combined for 40 fouls. Holy Cross committed 23 to Rhode Island's 17.
• Six yellow cards were issued in the match - three to URI and three to Holy Cross. All came in the second half.
• Each team was whistled offsides once.
• Redshirt senior goalkeeper Peyton Warwick finished with seven saves in goal for the Rams while Polanik turned away seven shots for the Crusaders.
• Junior Matt Ribbens led URI with four shots (two on goal). Josh Cintas put a team-high three attempts on net for Holy Cross.

Additional Notes:

• The victory improves Rhode Island to 11-1-0 in the all-time series against Holy Cross. The Rams have now won ten straight games against the Crusaders, dating back to the 1968 season.
• Morison became the first Ram to score at home this season as URI had previously been shutout in its last two matches at the URI Soccer Complex.
• Coming off last weekend's victory at Harvard, the Rams have now won two in a row for the first time since the 2009 season.
• Six of Rhody's seven matches so far this season have been decided by a single goal. In these games, Rhode Island is 3-3.
• Morison now leads the Rams with six (3G/0A) this season.
• Eckmayer's game-winner was the third of his career. His first came against Iona in 2009, while his second was in last year's overtime win against Siena. Overall, he now has 10 career points (5G/0A)
• Markman's assist was the seventh of his career and first this year.
• Sykes currently the Rams with three assists on the season.
• Sophomore Trevor Moran nearly found the back of the net in the second half when he blasted a shot on goal from point blank range which Polanik managed to knock down.
• 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. Saturday's contest against Holy Cross extended Gargaro's streak to 45 consecutive starts.

Up Next:
Rhode Island is back in action on Friday, Sept. 23, when it hosts Boston College in the team's annual Grassroot Soccer fundraiser game. The Rams' match vs. the Eagles is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., following the Rhody women's soccer game against Iona.