Men’s Soccer advances to Squad Locker Classic Championship

Box Score 1 BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University opened the 2014 season with a 3-0 victory over Thomas College in the first game of the 2014 Squad Locker Classic. In the second game, RPI scored two second half goals to earn a 2-1 win over UMass-Boston.

The first big threat in the opener came by the Hawks in the 11th minute. Tyler Peckham (Coventry, R.I.) took a hard contested shot in the middle of a crowded box towards the center of the net. Thomas keeper Shaquelle Trott (Pembroke, Bermuda) was able to put his body on it but could not hold on to the ball. Dan Kelly (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Andrew Carlson (Ridgefield, Conn.) were able to put shots up but neither could find the back of the net.

In the 21st minute, Peckham fed Cooper Allebrand (Santa Barbara, Calif.) a nice pass in the middle of the box for a shot attempt. Allebrand fired on net but was denied thanks to a great save by Trott to keep the game tied nil-nil.

Three minutes later, Marcus Johnson tried to put Thomas on the board, chipping a shot from the right side, towards the middle. His attempt had the distance but just sailed over the crossbar by a couple of feet.

In the 34th minute, Thomas' Tre Ming (Devonshire, Bermuda) launched a long pass down the middle ahead of Eric Knight (Harpswell, Maine), who was able to outrun the Hawk defense and find himself one-on-one at the net. He had a good look at a shot inside the right corner but hooked it just wide.

The Hawks were able to get on the scoreboard first in the 39th minute, as Kabine Conde (Philadelphia, Pa.) took a pass from Peckham on the right side and bent a shot into the left corner for his first collegiate goal.

Greg Logue added another goal for the Hawks two minutes before halftime, taking advantage of a loose ball off of a clearing attempt by Trott to put the Hawks up 2-0.

Thomas had two good chances to tack their first goals. Tre Ming (Devonshire, Bermuda) chipped a pass to Max Hansson in the 50th minute for a header. Hawk keeper Tom Mangels (Garden City, N.Y.) was able to make a one-handed save on the shot to keep Thomas off the board. Shortly later, Hansson took a shot off of a cross by Dakota Duplissie (Hampden, Maine), but had it bounce off the bottom of the crossbar and roll away.

Tyler Kuchenbecker (Wellesley, Mass.) wrapped up the scoring for the Hawks in the 65th minutes, taking a cross from James Shheldon (Amherst, N.H.) up the middle for his first goal.

Mangels earned the shutout for RWU, needing only one save. Trott took the loss, saving five shots in 45 minutes of play.

In the second game of the Squad Locker Classic, UMass-Boston was first to tally a mark on the board. In the 25th minute, Edmilson Barros (Praia, Cape Verde) fired a shot from close range in the left side of the box. RPI's Rob Dewald (Arlington, Va.) dove to his left to get two hands on the ball and punch it away. However, Elton Teixeira (Boston, Mass.) found himself in the right place at the right time, finding the loose ball and placing a shot just inside the right corner for the score.

In the closing minutes of the first half, RPI had a pair of strong chances to tie the game at one apiece. Esmir Hadzic (Burlington, Vt.) put up two shots on net over the final six minutes of the period to try and close the deficit. However, UMass-Boston's Alfonso Rosales (Revere, Mass.) stopped both tried for the Beacons to preserve the lead going into halftime.

In the early part of the second half, RPI began to control the ball longer and put more offensive pressure on the Beacons, outshooting the Engineers 4-0 over the first 20 minutes. Yet the Beacon defense was able to contest the shots, helping keep the attempts off target.

The Engineers were able to break through in the 70th minute, when Matt Koziol (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) chipped a pass into the box. Rosales attempted to grab the ball out of the air, but could not hold on to it, allowing Nathaniel Gunderson (Olympia, Wash.) to knock in the loose ball for the game-tying goal.

Hadzic came through seven minutes later with the go-ahead goal for RPI. Matt Carberry (Auburn, N.Y.) served up a corner kick that found Hadzic's head. He was able to poke it into the right corner to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead. RPI was able to hold off a late rally by UMass-Boston to come away with the comeback victory.

Dewald needed four saves to earn the win, while Rosales made two stops in the loss.

Roger Williams and RPI will play in the Squad Locker Classic Championship Game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., while UMass-Boston and Thomas square off in the Consolation Game at 11:00 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

#25 Cooper Allebrand: B/MF; 5' 10"; Senior

#11 Andrew Carlson: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#5 Dan Kelly: F; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#16 Greg Logue: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#01 Tom Mangels: GK; 6' 2"; Senior

#9 Tyler Peckham: MF/F; 6' 0"; Junior

#20 Kabine Conde: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#24 Tyler Kuchenbecker: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#25 Cooper Allebrand
: 5' 10"; Senior
: B/MF

#11 Andrew Carlson
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#5 Dan Kelly
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: F

#16 Greg Logue
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F

#01 Tom Mangels
: 6' 2"; Senior
: GK

#9 Tyler Peckham
: 6' 0"; Junior
: MF/F

#20 Kabine Conde
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#24 Tyler Kuchenbecker
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F