Sept. 28, 2007
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Rhode Island broke a 1-1 halftime tie with three second half goals as the Rams rolled to a convincing 4-1 victory over the Bonnies in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at McGraw-Jennings Field.
St. Bonaventure was able to hold off a potent Rams' attack in the opening 45 minutes, before yielding 14 second half shots. For the game, Rhode Island held a dominating 22-3 edge in shots, including a 14-2 margin in the final frame.
The loss is the third in a row for the Brown and White as they slip to 3-5-1 overall. On the flipside, the win is the third-straight for the Rams, upping their mark to 6-2-1.
The Bonnies took an early lead 5:49 into the game as senior Kristin Sotak was able to capitalize on an open net. Rhode Island keeper Jackie Fede aggressively came out to field a cross and collided with a St. Bonaventure player in front of the net. The ball was then redirected right to Sotak who promptly fired the ball into the net.
Just minutes later, Rhode Island made it a 1-1 score as it also capitalized on a goalie miscue. St. Bonaventure keeper Amanda Prestigiacomo mishandled a ball just inside the box and it deflected to wide open Dora Larusdottir for the goal.
After failing on several opportunities to take the lead early in the second half, Rhode Island found the back of the net in the 65th minute as Deb Nelson deflected a pass from Kristie Moltz past Prestigiacomo.
Nelson struck again eight minutes later with her second goal of the half this time off a feed from Thorunn Jonsdottir. The reigning A-10 Player of the Week, Nelson now has seven goals on the season and six in the last three games.
The Rams added a fourth goal with five seconds left for the 4-1 outcome as Larusdottir notched her second score of the contest.
Freshman Amanda Prestigiacomo stayed busy in net as she stopped a season-high nine shots in her first full game of the season.
St. Bonaventure will now hit the road for three-straight games, starting with a trip to Saint Louis on Sunday. The Bonnie and Billikens will square-off at 1 p.m.
