WENHAM, Mass.—For the first time in 10 matches, Gordon Men's Soccer suffered a loss in a closely contested game against Rhode Island College on the Quad. The Anchorman took advantage of a chance in the first 10 minutes of each half and Gordon was never ever to fully claw its way back to suffer a 2-1 defeat.

RIC keeper Chris Moura (Rumford, R.I.) had a good day in net, stopping a good look from Josh Beveridge (Anchorage, Alaska) just five minutes into regulation. While Moura kept the defense in line, Rhode Island College kept initiating the quick counter to get scoring opportunities and it worked just seven and a half minutes in. Directly off of a Gordon turnover in the midfield, Komla Dogbey (Providence, R.I.) got possession of the ball and took it down into the far right corner. Dogbey sent a perfect driving cross across the face of the goal, meeting the head of a cutting Cooper Ferreira (Westerly, R.I.) at point-blank range.

The Anchormen owned the pace for the first 15 minutes, but Gordon became the more aggressive team in the final two-thirds of the half. Moura staved off wave after wave of Gordon chances, including a pair of firm strikes from just a few feet away off the foot of Caleb Cole (Coatesville, Pa.). The Fighting Scots looked to have the game tied just before the end of the first period when Cole flicked a ball to a wide open Tyler Modzeleski (Cazenovia, N.Y.) with Moura on the ground off his post. Modezeleski squared up a ball, but an Anchorman defender got in the way just before it crossed the goal line to preserve the shutout.

Much like the first half, Rhode Island College used the quick counter attack to catch the Scots off guard. Less than five minutes into the second period RIC finished off a beautiful ball to give themselves a comfortable cushion. Dan Monteiro (Pawtucket, R.I.) sent a through ball that fit through a tight window, allowing Dennis Vazquez (Providence, R.I.) to slide in and get just enough of the ball to send it just under the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.

Gordon answered 10 minutes later with a nice bang-bang finish off of a set piece. Cole served up a ball to the far post that was headed back by Beveridge to find Ben Gradert (Hudson, Ohio) unmarked. The defender one-timed the header past the diving hands of Moura to cut the deficit in half.

The Fighting Scots continued to press for the equalizer over the final 30 minutes, but RIC kept the chances far enough way to do too much damage. Gordon got a final chance in the waning moments, but a close opportunity sailed just over the bar to end things effectively.

Gordon held an 8-5 attempts on goal advantage, but Moura's six saves and a team save was enough to keep the pesky Scots out of the net for a second time. Spoonhour made three stops for Gordon.

Rhode Island College (9-3-1) will look to keep its five-game unbeaten streak alive on Saturday when they travel to New Hampshire to take on Keene State. Gordon (9-2-1) will have to recover quickly as they host Wentworth on Saturday afternoon. The Leopards currently share the Commonwealth Coast Conference lead with the Fighting Scots.

Of Note:

• ·        Cole moved his point streak to 10 games, but Gordon fell in a game where it tallied on for the first time in 2016.