Weekly Roundup: RIFC Reach USLC Final, Vermont Punches Ticket to College Cup

Providence fall short in Big East Championship, Connecticut women advance

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

Two New England teams were crowned king of their respective East this week. In the pro ranks, RIFC claimed the Eastern Conference, while in college, Vermont won their seventh America East title.

USL Championship

Eastern Conference Final

Rhode Island FC 2-1 Charleston Battery

Rhode Island FC made history, reaching the Eastern Conference Final in the club’s inaugural season — and they’re not done yet. After facing heavy criticism during the early part of the USL season for repeated draws, RIFC has reinvented itself and carried its late-season momentum all the way to the championship. Three straight road victories — including wins against the two highest point-getters in the league — means Rhode Island will hit the road one last time to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the final.

RIFC opened the scoring late in the first half when Clay Holstad launched a long throw into the six-yard box. Defender Karifa Yao flicked it on to Zachary Herivaux, who found the back of the net for his first goal of the postseason. Rhode Island then netted a second in the 53rd minute, which turned out to be the match-winner. Once again, it was Clay Holstad involved in the build-up, finding Noah Fuson, who took on his defender and rifled a shot into the roof of the goal. Charleston would find a way back into the game less than 10 minutes later when Juan Torres curled a free kick off the crossbar and into the goal from over 30 yards away. The strike caught nearly everyone off-guard, including Rhode Island goalkeeper Koke Vegas.

RIFC held firm for the remaining 30+ minutes and punched their ticket to the USLC final Saturday at noon.

NCAA Soccer

America East

The America East playoffs continued this week, with the semifinal round concluding on Tuesday and the final on Sunday afternoon.

Semifinals

#1 New Hampshire 0-0 #4 Bryant (2-4 BRY)

Defending conference champion Bryant has not been as dominant in year two under head coach Ruben Resendes, but for a second consecutive season, they knocked out AE powerhouse New Hampshire. In a match that featured very few attacking chances on either end, the Bulldogs prevailed in penalty kicks, with grad student Tibo Jacobs scoring the winner. UNH hopes to receive an at-large bid on Monday when the national tournament pairings are announced.

#2 Vermont 2-1 #3 UMBC – 2OT

Despite being the two seed in the America East playoffs, number 17 Vermont is the only ranked team in the conference. The Catamounts survived a scare from UMBC, which scored the opening goal late in the first half. Behind a loud Virtue Field crowd, Vermont would make their way back. Yaniv Bazini equalized in the 77^th minute and sent UVM to the AE Championship with a 105^th-minute winner, completing the brace.

Final

#2 Vermont 2-1 #4 Bryant

Vermont dethroned Bryant Sunday to claim their seventh America East title in school history. The Catamounts scored the game’s opening goal in the 69th minute. Max Murray sent a floated ball into the box that was nodded back across by Sydney Wathuta into the path of Marcell Papp, who sent a bobbling shot into the turf and past the Bryant keeper. The Bulldogs leveled the score in the 82nd minute when Marc Pitarch Bayot volleyed home a loose ball in the box. It didn’t take long for UVM to get back in front, however. Maximilian Kissel was the hero with his eighth goal of the season. Jeremy Tsang sent in Vermont’s 10th corner of the match, finding Kissel’s head for the winner. At 66 in the RPI, Bryant is a long shot to make the College Cup Tournament.

Big East

Number 25 Providence was in action twice this week in the Big East playoffs.

Semifinal

#2 Providence 2-1 #3 St. Johns — OT

The Friars advanced to Sunday’s Big East Championship with a narrow win over St. Johns in overtime. Despite being outshot, Providence won the match in the second minute of the golden goal-style overtime. Sam Montalto swung a ball into the box from the right side; Brandon Marshall headed it to Israel Dos Santos Neto, who volleyed home the winner.

Final

#2 Providence 1-2 #4 Georgetown

Israel Dos Santos Neto stayed hot, scoring the opener for Providence in the 16th minute, but the Hoyas always looked the better team. Neto beat his man at the top of the box with a quick touch to the right and smashed a low shot into the bottom corner. The Friars did well to create chances on the counter, but ultimately, it wasn’t enough. Georgetown would score an equalizer less than two minutes into the second half and took all the momentum with them. Eric Howard finished the job for the Hoyas when his shot from the left side of the box kissed the inside of the far post, making it 2-1. Providence will likely receive an at-large bid to the national tournament, as they sit 16th in the RPI.

NCAA Women’s Soccer

National Tournament

Wisconsin 3-1 Maine

After a convincing 3-0 win over New Hampshire in the America East Championship, Big Ten foe Wisconsin proved too much for Maine in the first round of the national tournament. Erin Connolly scored the lone goal for the Black Bears.

Texas 4-1 Boston University

BU went unbeaten in Patriot League play this season but struggled mightily in non-conference matches. That trend continued Friday evening, with a loss to number 21 Texas. Morgan Fagan scored the opener in the 20th minute for the Terriers before Texas rattled off four unanswered goals to reach the second round.

UConn 2-1 Rutgers

Connecticut is the only New England side qualified for the round of 32 in the women’s national tournament. UConn pulled the upset over Rutgers on the road, scoring two rapid-fire goals in the first half. Chioma Okafor got on the scoresheet first, in the 31st minute, on a feed from Anaya Johnson. Six minutes later, Lucy Cappadona scored the match-winner, assisted by Joyce Ryder. The Huskies will face number 13 Stanford in Arkansas on Friday.

Georgetown 3-0 Fairfield

MAAC Champion Fairfield was toppled by Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

Portland Hearts of Pine

The biggest news in club history dropped Thursday when Hearts SC announced Bobby Murphy as its first head coach and sporting director. Murphy brings experience from the highest level of soccer in the United States, having served as interim head coach of Orlando City SC in 2016. Most recently, he coached MLS Next Pro side St. Louis City 2. Murphy also brings direct ties to Maine and the Portland area, working as head coach of the University of Southern Maine in 1999.

Portland has since announced three tryout dates for prospective players. The first, on Dec. 7, is for Mainers only. The two other dates are Dec. 13 and Dec. 15, and they are open to anyone 16 and older. All tryouts are being held at Falmouth High School.

New England Revolution

Stadium

There have not been any player moves yet for the Revs, but they took another step towards an Everett stadium this week. New legislation was approved that would allow a soccer-specific stadium at 173 Alford Street. The bill awaits a signature from Governor Maura Healey.

International Duty

Peyton Miller scored a second-half goal off the bench for the United States U-20 National Team in a 3-0 win over South Korea.

Esmir Bajraktarević saw about 30 minutes of action off the bench as Bosnia and Herzegovina were throttled by Germany 7-0 in UEFA Nations League A.

Alhassan Yusuf was not featured in Nigeria’s first AFCON qualifying match, a 1-1 draw with Benin.

Revolution II goalkeeper JD Gunn was on the bench for Panama’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica on Thursday.