Providence, R.I—Rhode Island College senior forward
Jonathan Oliveira (Providence, R.I.) netted his team-leading seventh goal on the year as the Anchormen dropped a hard-fought battle, 2-1, vs. Eastern Connecticut in Little East men's soccer action played at Alumni Field Wednesday evening.
THE BASICS
Eastern Connecticut 2, Rhode Island College 1
Eastern Connecticut (8-5, 4-1 LEC)
Rhode Island College (7-5, 4-2 LEC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• ECSU senior defender
Larson Richards (Mansfield, Conn.) kicked off the game's offense by capitalizing on a failed RIC clear attempt from 25 yards out in the 28
th minute for his fourth strike of the season.
• Just two minutes after the initial goal, Warrior freshman forward
Sean Cafferty (Clinton, Conn.) converted a gorgeous pass inside the box from junior midfielder
Andres Mayuri (West Hartford, Conn.) for his third of the year.
• RIC responded 30 seconds later when junior forward
Brandon Ramos (Boston, Mass.) was tackled in the box and the Anchormen were awarded a penalty kick. Oliveira took the shot and beat Eastern sophomore goalkeeper
Dylan Pallanck (Willington, Conn.) to the lower right-hand corner to pull RIC within one.
• RIC junior forward
Luis Blanco (Pawtucket, R.I.) nearly scored on two separate opportunities in the first half, both off of feeds from Ramos, but the score remained, 2-1, in Eastern Connecticut's favor heading into halftime.
• The second half was a defensive battle as no team scored. RIC showed life early and put pressure on in the final 15 minutes, but were unable to net the equalizer. A final effort by senior midfielder
Roman Davis (Watertown, Mass.) in the waning minutes from 25 yards out was stopped by Pallanck and capped off a Warriors victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
• RIC senior goalkeeper
Charlie Tashjian (West Warwick, R.I.) stopped six shots in the losing effort (7-5).
• Pallanck had two saves and picked up the win (7-4).
• ESCU held a slight advantage in shots (13-10), shots on goal (8-3) and corner kicks (5-3).
WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East play at home vs. Southern Maine on Saturday, Oct. 16 (1 p.m.).
