RIC drops Men’s Soccer in double overtime, 2-1

PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth State University Men’s Soccer team dropped their second straight game last Saturday, falling to the Anchormen of Rhode Island College in a 2-1 double overtime thriller at Panther Field. Rhode Island’s last-minute heroics came from Senior Chris Childs, whose two goals were his first of the season. The Anchormen have won six-straight and improve to 8-4-2 and 4-0-1 in the LEC, while the Panthers fell to 9-3-3 and 3-2-1 in conference play. Both teams displayed great defensive efforts in a scoreless first half of play. The Panthers received their first opportunity to put themselves on the board when freshman Garth Stephens hit a cross to junior Justin Moya in the box, but Moya’s shot flew over the RIC net. Play continued to be a defensive showcase with great passing plays for both teams, as neither side could offensively get ahead. The Anchorman and Panthers both missed numerous goal opportunities, and the first half ended in a scoreless deadlock. RIC nearly scored early into the second half when sophomore Kyle Genereux received a pass from Matt Borges, but his shot hit the side of the net. The Panther offensive looked promising as well, pressuring RIC defenders in their own territory early. The Panthers needed just five minutes to break the tie, as sophomore Justin Flanagan broke a strong defensive showing outside the RIC net to put the Panthers up 1-0.Both teams remained strong against one another through the second half as the Anchormen struggled to find a scoring play. The Plymouth State offense kept Rhode Island defenders on their toes as they threatened to score again, but the Panthers were unable to drive through the Anchormen defense, keeping it at anyone’s game.The Panthers were only five minutes away from scoring the upset when Childs finally beat the Plymouth State defense. The senior forward sent the ball sailing into the Panther net in the final minutes of regulation, tying the game back up at one. Neither side could produce the go-ahead goal in the closing minutes, and the two teams went into overtime. Great defense again held the offense quiet in the extra session, as both sides kept the ball away from goals. The tough showing sent the two teams into a double-overtime LEC showdown, where the Anchormen finally took the advantage. The Panthers fought to hold on until Chris Childs, who had already saved Rhode Island once on the day, drove the ball into the PSU box and slid it past Panther goalkeeper Tyler Shute midway through the second overtime, sending the entire Anchormen bench onto the field to celebrate their hard-fought victory. RIC finished with the advantage in shots, making eleven attempts against Plymouth’s nine. Shute recorded two saves in net for the Panthers, while Sean Gonsalves did not register a save in the RIC net. The Panthers, now 2-3-2 since going undefeated in September, hosted Thomas College Thursday in their final regular season home game and will finish up the season this Saturday on the road at UMass Dartmouth.