October 7, 2009

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A balanced scoring performance helped propel visiting Rhode Island College to a 3-0 victory over MIT in a non-conference men’s soccer game on Wednesday night. The loss lowered the Engineers’ ledger to 6-5 on the year while the Anchormen improved to 4-5-2.

RIC opened the half with a flurry of shots before the game became a battle in the midfield. MIT broke the stalemate in the 22nd minute when Zachary Kabelac put a shot on net that was scooped up by Anchormen goalie Helder Faustino right before Christian Therkelsen had a chance to redirect the ball.

On RIC’s counterattack, Josh Sousa sent a pass to Ryan Kelley two yards in front of the goal. Kelley’s initial shot was stopped by netminder Dylan Rankin. He quickly booted the rebound to the far post which was turned away on a diving save from Rankin. On his third try, Kelley gathered the loose ball and chipped it over Rankin to put the Anchormen on the board. RIC extended its margin in the 26th minute on a strike by David De Melo. From the far sideline, Jose Ruiz sent a pass through traffic which was gathered by De Melo at the top of the box and then booted to the lower left corner of the net.

In addition to enjoying a 2-0 lead at the intermission, the Anchormen held a commanding 12-3 advantage in shots and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

RIC continued to attack in the second stanza with Rankin picking up point-blank saves on blasts by Julian Montoya and Ruiz in the first two minutes. The Engineers put some pressure on the Anchormen in the 54th minute courtesy of a deep throw-in by Joey DeRosa. After a few headers by the Cardinal and Gray, RIC cleared the ball out to preserve the shutout. The Anchormen capped the scoring in the 73rd minute as Louis Tavares converted a feed from Dan Rodrigues.

Rankin finished the night with 10 saves while Faustino made five stops in his first shutout of the season. RIC out-shot the Engineers, 21-9, for the game and held a 9-8 margin in corner kicks.

Both squads return to conference play on Saturday, Oct. 10. MIT will travel to NEWMAC foe Springfield College while RIC make the trip to Little East Conference rival Plymouth State University.