Rams Rebound at Albany, Defeat Great Danes 2-1

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

Albany Starters
Fitzpatrick, Luizzi, Schneider, Kempf, Vega, Belak, Nelle, Carnell, Paltsios, Luke, Brennan (GK)

Scoring Summary

1st Half - URI - Nicole Brennan (Ari Stanton) - 8:28 - 1st goal of season
1st Half - ALB - Kiana Rugar - 44:00 - 1st goal of season

2nd Half - URI - Chelsea Gates - 79:48 - 2nd goal of season - GWG

How It Happened
1st Half
Rhode Island scored the opening goal for the sixth time this season when Nicole Brennan ripped a shot past Albany keeper Alana Brennan. Ariana Stanton had the assist on Brennan's first goal of the season, making this her third straight game with a goal or assist. Albany had a great chance to equalize when Kelly Kempf had a free kick from just outside the box, but goalkeeper Katie Nickles came up with a huge save. After the Great Danes struck the goal post inside the 41st minute, Kiana Rugar scored at 1:00 to even the score at 1-1 as the game went to halftime.

2nd Half
Neither team could get much going early on in the second half, but Albany came on strong in the 74th minute and forced Nickles to make three saves in less than 50 seconds. The sudden pressure caused the Rams to refocus, and they took control less than five minutes later. Senior Chelsea Gates scored her second goal of the season with 10:12 left in regulation to give the Rams a 2-1 lead. Nickles was called to action once more in the final minutes as she stopped Alexa Schneider's attempt at an equalizer. 

Inside the Box Score

• Shots: (Rhode Island 15, Albany 12); Shots On Goal: (Rhode Island 8, Albany 7)
• Corners: (Albany 8, Rhode Island 4)
• Fouls: (Rhode Island 7, Albany 7)
• Cards: (None)
• Records: (Rhode Island 5-1-1; Albany 1-5-1)
• Goalkeepers: (URI - Katie Nickles, 6 saves, 1 GA, 90:00; ALB - Alana Brennan, 6 saves, 2 GA, 90:00)

Quotables

• We talked about starting strong, didn't do it against harvard, did a good job tonight.
• We were a little bit immature after taking the lead, took our foot off the gas, and to their credit, they were all over us.
• Katie Nickles was awesome, she made a few great saves, and I thought we were fortunate going into the half at 1-1. 
• In the last 25-30 minutes it was downhill traffic and we were able to really put the pressure on.
• (On Ari Stanton's three game point streak) Ari works hard, she puts people under pressure. She's dangerous any time she has space around her and whenever he touches the ball.
• It's nice to have two goalkeepers that are playing well. Katie made some big saves, both of them are doing a good job and they're competing but helping each other get better, so that's what is important.

Additional Notes

• Ariana Stanton's assist makes this her third straight game with a point, and her fourth time on the scoresheet this season.
• Chelsea Gates came into her senior season with one career goal and has two in six games this year. Both goals have been game-winners, the other coming in extra time against Fairfield.
• Katie Nickles earned her third victory of the season and the fourth of her career.

Up Next

The Rams host the Army Black Knights on Sunday at 1 p.m. as part of a Rhode Island Soccer doubleheader. The men's soccer team hosts Yale at 4 p.m.