As the new season gets underway, these are the watchwords that have come to define what our team is all about this season. As the guys arrived on campus on August 12th, everyone (especially the more experienced guys) knew that it was going to be a very tough preseason. All the spots in the starting eleven were up for grabs so this made the training sessions a lot more intense and competitive. What was also interesting was that physically, all the guys came in fit... well, minus one - Josh Gonsalves - who recently had surgery on his ACL.
During preseason, the Coaches were always pushing us to limits, trying to get us out of our comfort zones. From "Stink Runs" to "Speeds of Soccer" by Coach Bergs - who claims he isn't here to torture us with fitness :) - to Coach OC aka Mount Vesuvius. When you see this sort of commitment and desire to win displayed by the coaching staff on a daily basis, you know that they believe in your ability as players and want to get the best out of you every time you put on the blue and white.
Well, after a very intense but enjoyable preseason, we finally got a chance to show Rhody fans what this year's team can accomplish this past weekend away at the UNH/Nike Classic Tournament. Although we didn't win the tournament, we came away from New Hampshire with a lot of positives. In our first game on Friday, we played Maine, which is coached by former URI assistant Pat Laughlin - aka Pattycakes - who really wanted to beat us haha! They pounced on us early and took a 1-0 lead about 17mins into the game. However, after some very colorful words by Scotsman Kevin Shaw at the half, we came out and took the game to Maine in the second half eventually winning the game 2-1.
On Sunday, in the second game against host New Hampshire, we really wanted to be more aggressive as the whistle blew. One reason for this was because against Maine, we took too long to get things going and the other reason was that UNH has beaten us ever since I have been here playing for Rhody. This year, we really wanted to beat these guys and both myself, and fellow senior Kevin Hamill made this very clear to the new guys.
From the very beginning we came out with a lot of energy and UNH had no idea what hit them, we were quicker to every ball, a lot more aggressive in every tackle, and playing all over them in every aspect of the game. In the end though, luck just wasn't on our side and the game ended 2-0 in their favor.
While I'm disappointed that we didn't get the win, I can't be upset about the way we played. We showed a lot of character and determination this weekend and never gave up. Everyone gave their all and we can walk away with our heads held high knowing that there is still a lot more games to get luck on our side.
Next up are those guys from Providence College - and you already know this is a big one!!! The game is next Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 3:00pm. The Friars have not beaten us since 2003, so they're definitely gonna be gunning for us - especially since we're playing at their place! That said, we need to have as many of our fans as possible make the trip up to PC to support us as we take on one of our biggest rivals!!!
One more thing before I go... On behalf of the team, I wanna thank all of the alumni for their continued support. We're working hard to make you guys proud!
See you up at PC next Tuesday... Peace.