Knights Defeat Holyoke Handily 5-1!

09.18.19

Warwick, R.I. – September 19, 2019: The CCRI Knights men’s soccer team hosted the Holyoke Community College Cougars on Tuesday afternoon for. Region XXI showdown. A dominant first half performance helped the Knights cruise to a 5-1 victory. The win improves CCRI’s season record to 2-3-1 overall and 1-2-1 in Region XXI play.

The Knights have struggled in recent games to get possession in dangerous areas and to put the opponent’s defense in so discomfort. To help alleviate this, CCRI came out with two strikers to keep the central defenders busy and add more dynamic movement to help break the line. Dividends paid off as the Knights opened scoring in the 14th minute when freshman Cornelius Tay (Monrovia, Liberia) was put in on goal by sophomore co-captain Jake Leander (West Warwick, RI) and slotted it home for his first goal of the season.

The lead was doubled in the 27th minute as sophomore Delpio Alves (East Providence, RI) drove deep into the Holyoke defense but was taken down in the box, he converted from the spot, scoring in his second goal of the season.

The high-tempo pressure brought by the two-striker system introduced an openness that CCRI hadn’t yet played with all season. Freshman Paul Sayles-Perez (Westerly, RI) tallied the third goal of the game and second goal of the season in the 30th minute. A great bit of combination play between freshmen Juan Garcia (Guatemala City, Guatemala) and Jose Orozco (Pawtucket, RI) led to the goal after the midfield was able to break pressure set by the Cougars. Sayles-Perez was slotted through, in on goal and he placed the ball in the back of the net on his weak foot.

This theme of great combination play again struck true for the Knights in the 35th minute when Juan Garcia and sophomore Anthony Serluca (Westerly, RI) linked up to open space for freshman Adelmo Intrieri (Westerly, RI) to fire a shot from outside the box for his first goal of the season, giving CCRI a 4-0 lead.

The fifth and final Knights goal was scored after Adelmo Intrieri became provider as he assisted freshman Koren Barrios (Pawtucket, RI) outside the penalty area to take a 5-0 lead in the 37th minute.

The score at halftime read 5-0 and CCRI would need no more goals as Holyoke only truly threatened once, scoring in the 66th minute. The Knights comfortably held on, winning 5-1.

Sophomore co-captain goalkeeper Juan Gonzalez (Providence, RI) registered seven saves in 70 minutes and concede the loan goal before being replaced for the final 20 minutes by freshman Ednilson Tavares (Pawtucket, RI) who tallied two saves.

Head Coach Gabe Toro when asked about the improvements on the technical aspects of the team; “Many players did not even consider using their weaker foot and this takes away many opportunities. In an effort to make all the players more versatile and more dangerous on the pitch, the players worked on this and will continue all year.” Coach Toro “we tried some new combination of players in the midfield in the second half to see who could fill in for Adelmo and Jose Orozco when they need some rest. Joshua Pineda, Koren Barrios and David Restrepo did a good job of coming on and showing that they are able to contribute to the team.”

The CCRI Knights men’s soccer team will next be in action on Saturday, September 21st at 12:00 p.m. as they travel to Rochester, New York to take on the Tribunes of Monroe Community College.

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England's largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 15,000 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.