Timothy Yean
Sports Editor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In the return of four key playmakers for Rhode Island College, Jackson Fox was the guy to make the big play, with his goal in the 66th minute enough to down UMass Dartmouth in a 1-0 defensive standoff and improve their standing to 5-1 in the Little East.
The Anchormen hosted UMass Dartmouth for their 7 pm matchup Wednesday night, returning home after their 2-1 win over the University of Southern Maine this past Saturday, sailing past the Huskies despite the absences of Tariq Adio, Jackson Fox and Sekou Kamara in the shorthanded victory. Sophomore defender Alijah Nunes was also out with injury but returned tonight along with the other three Anchormen mentioned.
The 2-7-3 Corsairs (0-3-2 LEC) looked to find some traction at Alumni Field after a 4-2 bludgeoning by Western Connecticut State at home on Oct. 12th.
With Rhode Island College starting Little East Goalkeeper of the Week Wesley Perrotto and UMass Dartmouth starting junior Ethan Donahue, the Corsairs began with possession in the first half and was able to stay inside Anchormen territory early but were unable to get past Perrotto and the defense despite some early shots on goal and corner kicks.
About twenty minutes into the first half, the Anchormen began to show some offensive aggression as they were able to wrangle back time of possession but Donahue and the Corsairs made it difficult, Donahue saving multiple shots on goal with the UMass Dartmouth defense smothering any other offensive opportunity.
About 35 minutes into the first half, the junior forward Kamara missed off his shot from the right side of the field, the rebound opportunity from senior midfielder Anthony Recinos would just off the left crossbar as it looked like Donahue made a play on it at the last moment. Ten minutes later, it would be scoreless entering the half, with both teams showing no break in their defense.
Entering the second half, it looked to be the same story as UMass Dartmouth had some early looks at their first goal of the matchup with none being sent in as RIC continued to play strong on defense.
Jackson Fox was able to finally put a goal on the board for the Anchormen, sending the ball past Donahue in the 66th minute for an unassisted first goal for Rhode Island College bringing them with a 1-nothing lead.
In the final five minutes of the match, the Corsairs desperately aimed to tie, amping up their aggressiveness on offense, yet it was not enough for the RIC defense was consistently able to break down UMass Dartmouth’s attack looks and smother on corner kicks, ending the match with the ball inside Corsair territory and away with the 1-0 win.
RIC was able to hammer Donahue with eight shots on goal on a total 23 shots versus three shots on goal for right total shots by UMass Dartmouth. Donahue recorded seven saves compared to Perrotto’s three.
The Corsairs drop to 0-3-2 in Little East play and will stay in-conference for their third consecutive LEC matchup against VTSU Castleton Saturday. The Anchormen bump up to 5-1 in conference play and look to add another win to their total regular season record when they host Coast Guard for a 3 pm contest.
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Great job, Jackson Fox! Your goal made all the difference for the Anchormen. As a Wikipedia article maker from wikicreation.co.uk, I appreciate how sports moments like this can inspire others to share their stories.