Murray, Stanton Score Again; Rams Stay Unbeaten with 2-1 Win at Sacred Heart

Rhody Starters
Leyh, Warjas, Hansen, Bailes, Ari Stanton, Brennan, Lieberman, Alex Stanton, Gylfadottir, Nardella, Nickles (GK)

Sacred Heart Starters
Christy, Cosmedy, McNally, Antczak, Parlato, Verrette, DaSilva, Picinich, Roth, Robiglio, Schwartz (GK)

Scoring Summary

1st Half - URI - Ari Stanton (Gylfadottir) - 11:21 (2nd of season)

1st Half - SHU - Kristin Verrette (PK) - 15:20 (6th of season)

2nd Half - URI - Donika Murray (Lieberman) - 86:31 (2nd of season)

How It Happened
1st Half
Sacred Heart was strong out of the gates with two shots and a corner opportunity in the opening ten minutes. The Rams responded in the 11th minute with their first and best chance as Ari Stanton buried a cross from Katrin Gylfadottir, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers answered less than five minutes later as Rhode Island was whistled for a foul inside the box, off of a corner kick, giving SHU's Kristin Verrette a penalty kick. Verrette beat Katie Nickles to convert the PK for her sixth goal of the season. 

2nd Half
Rhode Island applied more pressure in the second half than the first, outshooting the Pioneers 8-7 and earning four corner kicks to Sacred Heart's one.  The game remained tied throughout the half until the undefeated Rams found some late magic in the 87th minutes. Rachael Lieberman played a ball in to Donika Murray at the top of the 18-yard box and Murray, who had a goal and assist against Bryant on Thursday, finished the play with a blast to the upper right corner of the goal. The Rams hung on for the final three minutes and improved to 4-0-1 on the year.

Inside the Box Score

• Sacred Heart outshot the Rams 17-12 in the game, and had eight shots on goal compared to Rhode Island's seven.
• The Rams had four corner kicks in each half, while Sacred Heart had six in the first 45 and just one in the second.
• SHU was whistled for nine fouls in the second half of a game that included three yellows card for each team.
• URI's Nicole Brennan, Amanda Nardella both picked up a yellow card, and the Rams were booked for a team yellow as well. 
• The Pioneers were also booked three times, as Corina DaSilva, Gabby Biagini, and Marissa Christy were all given yellows.
• Rhode Island improved to 4-0-1 on the season, while Bryant fell to 2-2-1 on the year.
• Katie Nickles allowed one goal in the 90 minute effort while picking up her second win of the season.

Quotables

Head Coach Michael Needham

• We started off a little slow, but then we found something we were looking for with Katrin putting a great pass through to Ari, and Ari did her job with a great finish.
• Tough place to play, so I'm proud of our ability to play better in the 2nd half.
• We were pretty average in 1st, made some minor adjustments, and the players responded very well in the 2nd half.
• The box score shows that we put pressure on in the 2nd, and I think it's the most we've put on any opponent so far this year.
• On our second goal, Donika did great job, the shot had some power but she also had to place it to put it in the top corner where she got it.
• Donika is a great player, she's always dangerous... she's starting to find her identity out there.
• Everything today was really good from a team standpoint. Hostile enviroment, tight field, astroturf, a lot of challenges, but all things considering, the team was awesome.
• Our players have bought into what we're doing and how we're doing it. We're all on the same page and that goes a long way towards being successful.

Additional Notes

• The 4-0-1 start is the best start since the 2000-01 Rhode Island team started 9-0 and finished 15-4-1.
• The Rams now lead the all-time series with Sacred Heart, 2-1.
• Katie Nickles earned her second win of the year, setting a new career-high.
• Ari Stanton has scored two goals in each of her three seasons with the Rams.
• Freshmen Katrin Gylfadottir and Rachael Lieberman both earned their first career points in today's match.

Up Next

The Rams return home on Tuesday, September 9th, as they host the Harvard Crimson at 7:00 p.m.

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