Men’s soccer dropped its Atlantic 10 opener to Rhode Island in a physical overtime duel Saturday.
The Rams (3–2–2, 1–0 A-10) edged out the Colonials (2–4–1, 0–1 A-10) 1–0 after scoring off a rebound in the second overtime to win the game. GW hammered just three of its 16 shots on goal, while Rhode Island launched eight of its 13 shots on goal.
“Both teams came to battle and there was a battle until the last kick of the game,” head coach Craig Jones said. “We knew it was going to go that way and once it goes into overtime, you either make one mistake or one good player is going to win you the game. Unfortunately for us, it was a mistake today.”
Senior goalkeeper Noah Lubin started between the pipes, making his first appearance in goal for the Colonials. He was tested early, nabbing his first save two minutes into the game. He collected seven on the night.
Two minutes later, graduate student midfielder and forward Sandro Weber returned the favor, firing a rocket toward the net. Rhode Island redshirt junior goalkeeper Stefan Schimdt leaped, pushing the ball over the crossbar and keeping the game knotted at zero.
The Colonials outshot their conference foe 8–7 in the first frame, but they struggled to get players at the end of crosses into the box. Senior defender Colin Anderson said the team played well and bounced back after losing 4–1 against UMBC Tuesday.
“The guys were competing really well and we had chances to score,” Anderson said. “We just need to capitalize on those a little better.”
The team concluded the half tied with the Rams at 0–0.
The second half mimicked the first frame, with both teams remaining deadlocked at 0–0. The physicality increased on the field, with the Rams and Colonials racking up a combined 20 fouls.
The squad failed to put a shot on goal in the second half. In the last five minutes of the frame, GW played with a renewed sense of urgency, sending several balls into the box. The ball remained outside of the net, and at the end of regulation, the teams were scoreless and went into overtime.
In the first overtime, Lubin scooped up an early chance by the Rams, keeping the Colonials alive. GW had a chance of its own two minutes later when a cross lofted to Weber, giving him a free header in the box. The ball, lacking power and direction, trickled into Schmidt’s hands.
The stalemate finally broke in the second half of overtime when Lubin bobbled a centered ball by the Rams, causing the ball to land favorably in the path of junior forward Filippo Tamburini for an easy tap-in finish. Jones said the Rams took their chance in overtime, while the Colonials failed to take advantage of their opportunity to end the game with a win.
“That’s the difference in the game, winning games and losing games, that we haven’t quite got that killer instinct to find the net,” Jones said.
In a physical match, GW fired off 16 shots throughout the game and committed 20 fouls. The Rams tacked on 18 of their own fouls and 13 shots. Anderson said the Colonials are creating strong scoring opportunities but are missing the final finish to put the ball between the pipes.
“We’re putting those balls in there and those balls are good, most of them are really good,” Anderson said. “It’s just having someone make that run and anticipating that ball where it’s going to be and just going through with it.”
The Colonials are back in action Tuesday against Villanova on the road. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
