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Knights Fall to Hard Fought Battle to Talented Tribunes

10.10.17

Warwick, R.I. – October 2, 2017: The CCRI Men’s soccer team traveled to Rochester, New York on Saturday, to take on The Tribunes of Monroe Community College. The Knights dropped the game 5-0, lowering their record to 2-6 on the season.

The Knights’ usually come out ready for action and take it to their opponent, but that was not the case in Rochester. The Knights let up a goal in the first 30 seconds, but it gave them a wakeup call. The Knights and Tribunes played the rest of the first 45 minutes to a scoreless draw, bringing the game to halftime at 1-0. Unfortunately for the Knights, their starting goalkeeper Jordan Lopez (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) was injured in the first half, causing him to be sidelined for the rest of the game. Jasson Johnson-Morais (Cranston, RI) came off of his position on the right wing to play goalkeeper for the remainder of the game.

In the second half, the Knights’ continued to fight but were unable to make-up the deficit. The Knights made the decision to act more offensively, pushing players forward to find the equalizing goal. The Knights were unable to and left themselves vulnerable, causing Monroe to have many opportunities. Johnson-Morais did a great job in net, making three saves on the seven shots he faced. Jason Lopes Di Pina (Central Falls, RI) was able to create opportunities and managed two shots, with one going on target. Edmilo Goncalves (Praia, Cape Verde), Alexis Beltran (Warwick, RI), and Gideon Oyekodum (North Providence, RI) each were able to manage one shot in the game.

Head Coach Gabe Toro was happy with the way the team played and fought throughout the game, but felt the referees did not give them a fair opportunity. He felt the “referee did not assert his role and the game did get a bit out of hand.” The Knights received multiple yellow cards for arguing with the referee. The Knights also sustained some injuries due to some very tough tackles, which Coach Toro felt were unfair.

The Knights will look to recover and rebound quickly as they will face Bristol Community College at home on Thursday, October 12^th in a Region XXI non-league game. Bristol has been previously ranked as high as No. 8 in Division III this year. The game will be played at 3:30PM at the Flanagan Campus in Lincoln, RI. Come out and support your Knights!

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 16,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.