This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Mark Eisenhauer.
After eking out a lead in the first half, disaster struck for the Colonials in a 2-1 loss to Rhode Island on Saturday in the team’s conference opener.
Though the stat sheet marked it as a Rams score, an own goal in the 62nd minute would be the game winner for Rhode Island when the the GW defense converted a ball played into their box into a goal in their own net.
Top scorer Jonny Forrest was sorely missed by the Colonials (4-6-0, 0-1-0), who took just five shots in the game compared to 18 for the Rams (6-3-3, 2-0-0). The junior forward sat out with an injury in the Colonials fifth loss in the last six games, the sixth game in which their offense has generated one goal or less.
“It wasn’t like we didn’t create some quality chances, we just didn’t quite have that quality finish or quality shot to score more goals,” head coach Craig Jones said.
Junior goalkeeper Jean-Pierre van der Merwe contributed seven saves in the first half despite a 15-shot onslaught against him. The score remained blank until the 42nd minute, when junior forward Philip McQuitty would score his first goal of the season off a pass from senior co-captain Matthew Scott to put GW on the board.
But that lead was short lived: The Rams responded two minutes later with just seconds to go in the half and tied the game with a corner kick missed by van der Merwe that managed to sneak into the left post.
“We should have gone into halftime up 1-0 […] that’s a whole different game,” Jones said. “We’ve got 10 defenders in the box and a goalkeeper, and yet the guy basically got a free shot. It was a terrible time to give up a goal and really disappointing to do that.”
GW was also handed a team yellow card in the final moments of the game, after Jones argued to the referees that the Rams were unsportsmanlike in killing the clock with the lead. All the frustration of the injury-gutted Colonials’ bubbled over, but they never found a way to answer with the players on the field.
Jones said Forrest has been sidelined with a “contact injury,” as opposed to a muscular injury. Though Jones has said he would rather see the team spread the scoring around, Saturday’s game highlighted the team’s offensive finishing woes. After missing GW’s last two games, Forrest may be back within the next week or two, Jones said.
Senior co-captain Andri Alexandersson is continuing to battle a leg injury that he sustained two weeks ago. His timetable for return is less clear, but his leadership could make a difference in tight games.
Despite the team’s losing record and poor showing against the Rams, Jones said he remains optimistic.
“The pieces are there to be honest,” Jones said. “It’s just a matter of putting them together and getting our defensive and offensive units on the same page and producing, not just one or the other.”
The Colonials are back in action next weekend at home, facing off against La Salle on Friday and Saint Joseph’s on Sunday.
