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Tournament Central
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Rhode Island College men’s soccer team eliminated top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University in the semifinal round of the Little East Conference playoffs a year ago. Saturday, the Anchormen would have kept Eastern out of the playoffs altogether with their 3-0 win at Alumni Field, if not for the help of Plymouth State University.
With its playoff hopes dashed this year after sharing last year’s LEC regular-season title with Eastern, Plymouth played the role of the spoiler Saturday, scoring twice in less than four minutes to eliminate Massachusetts Dartmouth from contention and allow the Warriors – losers by a score of 3-0 at Rhode Island Saturday afternoon -- to sneak into the fourth and final spot. Eastern had entered the day in third place in the conference with 12 points. UMass Dartmouth was fourth, with ten.
Fourth-seeded Eastern (6-9-1, 4-3-0 LEC) will visit top-seeded and two-time defending LEC playoff champion Massachusetts Boston (15-1-2, 5-1-1) in one of two semifinal-round matchups Wednesday. The Warriors are the only team this year to defeat the Beacons, pinning a 2-1 loss on UMB Oct. 15 at Thomas Nevers Field. UMass Boston is ranked No. 2 in New England, 12th nationally.
UMass Boston ended the three-year playoff championship run of Eastern by winning the first of two overtime championship matches in 2014.
Finishing the regular season with a 1-6-0 road record, Eastern sustained its first regular-season shutout loss to Rhode Island in 13 years as the Anchormen finished with a share of the LEC regular-season title for the first time. The victory over Eastern, coupled with UMass Boston’s overtime road tie with Keene State College, left the Anchormen sharing the title with the Beacons. Second-seeded RIC (14-3-1, 5-1-1 LEC) – unbeaten in its last ten matches (9-0-1) will host No. 3 Western Connecticut in the other semifinal-round match Wednesday.
Rhode Island scored twice in the second half to build from a 1-0 halftime lead against Eastern, getting a goal and assist from Komla Dogbey, whose 13 goal of the year 13 minutes into the second half pushed the hosts into a 2-0 lead. RIC added an insurance goal with five minutes left.
Eastern junior scoring leader Xavier Doran (Hebron) recorded four of Eastern’s 13 shots, forcing RIC keeper Chris Moura to make three of his five saves in the match. Moura had also made five saves in his team’s 1-0 shutout of Eastern in last year’s LEC semifinals.
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