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Rhody Men Finish Spring with Alumni Game, Banquet and Team Awards

Rams finish the spring season with an undefeated record for the second consecutive season.

ALUMNI DAY PHOTO GALLERY

May 8, 2007

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island men's soccer team completed its second-straight undefeated non-traditional season following a 6-0 defeat of its alumni on April 28 at the URI Soccer Complex in Kingston, R.I. The Rams finished with a 3-0-2 record, defeating Southern Connecticut (2-0), UMass (3-0) and the Alumni while tying Boston University and UMass-Lowell (0-0). The originally scheduled game with UConn was cancelled by the Huskies.

"I was pleased with the results, especially considering the small squad we had this spring," said head coach John O'Connor. "It was a great exercise for the team and it gave us the opportunity to integrate new players for longer stretches of time. It was a big test of fitness."

The Alumni game was played on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon but the clouds soon began to cover the alumni side. Freshmen forward Mitch Trainor (Amenia, N.Y.) opened the scoring with his first goal in a URI uniform after gathering a rebounded off a Robbie Dircks (Rockaway, N.J.) shot which came off the post. The score was increased to 2-0 when sophomore forward Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) fed junior Steve Mellen (North Kingstown, R.I.) who hammered the ball into the top right corner of the net.

Former Ram Lenny Mercurio `81, showing the skill that made him the third all-time leading scorer in Rhody history, almost got the alums on the board after he chipped a ball over freshmen goalkeeper Anthony Tavares (East Providence, R.I.) from 35 yards out and just missed to the right of the goal.

In the latter parts of the game youth took over when Geoff Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) scored off a Trainor assist followed by tallies from Danleigh Borman (Cape Town, South Africa), Crosby and two by Lukasz Tumicz (Biszytnek, Poland). Tumicz scored on a free kick and then a breakaway to complete the scoring. He was the leading scorer in the spring for the Rams with 4 goals.

Following the game, over 80 players, alumni, parents and friends gathered for the 1st Annual Friends of Soccer Team Banquet at the Holiday Inn in South Kingstown. A pre-buffet dinner reception included attendee Michael Hoffer `61 who played on the very first URI men's soccer squad.

The awards ceremony followed and junior defender Dan Lucas (East Providence, R.I.) was given the Bob Butler Sportsmanship Award named for the first soccer coach at URI and awarded to the player on the team who exhibits "the spirit of athletic competition and fair play". In presenting the award, URI Director of Soccer Operations Frank Bergren noted "Dan is always the first one to lend a helping hand, put in his hard work at training and keep the team loose with his humor."

Senior goalkeeper Mark Sauter (Columbus, Ohio) was recognized by academic advisor Nicole LaBranche-Poloski with the newly established URI Rams Academic Achievement Award which goes to the team member who "best defines the term student-athlete". A double major in History & Political Science, Sauter was a Dean's List student in each of his 7 semesters in Kingston and won the Margaret Thomas Phi Alpha Prize for outstanding work in history. Mark also was honored at the Rhode Island State House on Monday April 30th as a scholar-athlete. He will enter law school next fall at the University of Cincinnati.

Two team awards were conferred upon senior All-American and MLS Draftee Jeff Gonsalves (Markham, Ontario) in the form of the Len Mercurio Offensive Player of the Year the Geza Henni Most Valuable Player Award. Gonsalves, the reigning Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, was the second leading scorer in the country in 2006 with 18 goals and 5 assists for 41 points. He scored in 13 of 23 games played, had 4 multiple goal games, 5 game winners and moved into fifth place on the all-time scoring list this past fall.

The final presentation of the afternoon was the second newly introduced award honoring Alumni Service. The yet-to-be-named award will be given annually to the alumnus who "has shown dedication, passion and leadership in support of University of Rhode Island men's soccer". In a surprise announcement (to him), assistant coach Gareth Elliott was called to the podium.

"Gareth is well deserving as the inaugural winner of this award as he has been an invaluable part of the URI men's soccer program for nearly 10 years - as both a player and a coach," commented O'Connor. "He really made it possible for such a smooth transition and continued success between Ed Bradley's departure and my hiring."

The evening ended with a tribute and presentation of gifts to the senior class of Kevin Algozer (Northport, N.Y.), Jim Goetter (Marlborough, Conn.), Jeff Gonsalves, B.J. Kochis (Naugatuck, Conn.), Mark Sauter, and Joe Spofford (Waterville, Maine), followed by a end of the season slide show.

The Rams open up their 2007 fall campaign on Saturday, Sept. 1, when they take on Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.