PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Behind a pair of goals from sophomore midfielder Ignacio Cespedes (Fitchburg, MA), the Rhode Island College men's soccer team knocked off the Bridgewater State Bears, 3-1, in a physical, hard-fought game on Tuesday afternoon at the RIC Soccer Field.
RIC (3-4) drew first blood in the 34th minute when senior midfielder Hector Espildora Fortuno (Malaga, Spain) broke into the box and found Cespedes on his left. Cespedes attempted a shot, but the ball ricocheted off a Bridgewater State (2-3-1) defender and came right back to him. Cespedes pounced on the loose ball and buried it home to give the Anchormen the early lead.
Out of the halftime break, freshman midfielder David Ricci (Smithfield, RI) led the Anchormen attack across midfield in the 49th minute. Ricci dished it to senior forward Bruno Costa (Pawtucket, RI), who immediately passed left to Espildora Fortuno. The senior then crossed it to Cespedes who banged it in past BSU sophomore goalkeeper Joe Parsons (Springfield, MA) for his second goal of the game and his team-leading fourth of the season.
Trailing by two goals, the Bears had a chance to retaliate in the 52nd minute when senior midfielder Donald Flores (Cranston, RI) found sophomore forward Craig Shadduck (Braintree, MA) wide open in front of the net. Shadduck ripped a shot into the net, but the play was whistled dead because of an offside call. The Bears came up short once again on another scoring opportunity in the 67th minute, as Flores hit the post on a free kick.
RIC added some insurance in the 69th minute thanks to a goal from junior midfielder Donald Dane (Derry, NH). After Espildora Fortuno launched a corner kick that bounced freely in front of the net, the Bears tried to clear; but the attempt was knocked downed by Dane, who fired a shot off the far post to stake the hosts to a 3-0 lead.
Bridgewater State got on the board in 88th minute as Shadduck received a pass from sophomore forward Colin Neri (Upton, MA) at the top left corner of the box and launched a shot past RIC senior netminder Nick Clark (East Bridgewater, MA) for his third goal of the season.
Clark (3-4) stopped three shots in net for the Anchormen in the win, while Parsons (2-3-1) made five saves for the Bears.