EASTON, Mass. (September 1, 2024) – Stonehill men's soccer dropped a Sunday matinee at W.B. Mason Stadium against the University of Rhode Island, 1-0, in a non-conference contest.

Highlights 

• Four different Skyhawks recorded shots on goal including freshmen Henrik Olsvik (Asker, Norway) and Nate Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.).
• Sophomore Jaxson Kahawai (Honolulu, Hawaii) and senior Colin Milliken (Easton, Mass.) recorded the other two shots on goal but URI's goalie kept the Stonehill off the board on Sunday.
• In his first collegiate start in net, sophomore Tyler Sloan (Tallahassee, Fla.) recorded a season-high four saves for the Skyhawks.
• Rhode Island's Brandon Bermingham scored the lone goal of the non-conference matchup in the fourth minute coming off an assist from Nikos Clark-Tosczak.

How it Happened 
The opening goal came in just the fourth minute of the game as a turnover on the defensive end for the Skyhawks turned into instant offense for the Rams as Brandon Bermingham raced down the left sideline before putting a right-footed shot on net past the outstretched arm of Sloan for the goal.
 
Stonehill's first scoring opportunity came in the 21st minute when a cross from sophomore Tiago Lima-Bittencourt (Charlotte, N.C.) found Kahawai in the box who chipped a shot on net but Nate DiLoreto snagged the ball out of the air to keep the Rams in front.
 
A long throw-in from junior Jared Rapoza (Somerset, Mass.) trickled out of the box to Milliken whose shot was redirected to Monteiro but an awkward angle kept the freshman from getting all of the ball on his foot as DiLoreto made a diving save to his left.
 
Bermingham had another chance at scoring in the early stages of the second half as his shot split two Skyhawk defenders but Sloan was positioned perfectly to make the save.
 
Another great cross from Bittencourt set up a leaping Rapoza just a few yards outside the goalie box for a leaping, right-footed shot but it went high, ricocheting off the top-right corner of the crossbar.
 
Sloan made his best two saves of the afternoon in a span of 40 seconds, diving to his right in the 83rd minute to stop a shot from Mathias Taylor before stopping a hard-hit ball in the 84th minute from Nate Yurkovic with just the tips of his outstretched hand, this time diving to his left.
 
In the 87th minute, a loose ball off a Milliken corner kick found senior Nate Lagoa (Rehoboth, Mass.) in open space as he sent a shot toward the net that Olsvik deflected but right into the waiting arms of the URI goalkeeper.
 
Up Next
Stonehill (0-3-1, 0-0-0 NEC) travels to Fairfield University (0-3-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) on Wednesday, Sept. 4 for a 7 p.m. non-conference battle at Lessing Field against the Stags on ESPN+.
 
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