The Rhode Island College men's soccer team opened the 2017 season with a 2-0 setback against Dean College in a non-conference contest played at Alumni Field on Friday evening. 

Dean (1-0) jumped out to the early lead when sophomore midfielder Santiago Cardona (Revere, MA) took a pass from senior Pepe Vieira (Brockton, MA) and slid in a shot from just three yards out to put the visiting Bulldogs up, 1-0, just 10:05 into the contest. RIC (0-1) held a commanding, 7-1, advantage in shots for the stanza, but couldn't connect on any offerings as Dean took one-goal advantage into halftime.

The visitors increased their lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute when freshman goalkeeper Nathan Silveira (East Providence, RI) launched a free kick into the box that was punched out by RIC freshman goalkeeper Matthew Camara (Swansea, MA). Freshman Christiano Martins (Brockton, MA) then collected the loose ball and blasted a shot into the back of the net for the two-goal advantage.

The hosts held a commanding, 20-8, advantage in shots, while both teams had three corner kicks in the contest.

Camara (0-1) and freshman Charlie Tashjian (West Warwick, RI) each made one save in the loss for the Anchormen, while Silveira notched 10 stops for Dean in the victory (1-0).

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will host Clark on Tuesday, Sept. 5 (6 p.m.).