Senior Kedan Crosby (St. James, Trinidad) found the back of the net in the 109th minute, leading the Rhode Island men's soccer team to a 2-1 double overtime victory over Charlotte, Friday night at the URI Soccer Complex. Making his first-ever start in goal, sophomore Peyton Warwick (Prairie Village, Kan.) earned the win for the Rams, turning away six shots on the night.
Crosby nearly put the Rams (8-6-3, 4-2-2 Atlantic 10) on the board ten minutes in, when he headed a service from sophomore Greg Balicki (Wilbraham, Mass.) just wide of the goal at the 10:04 mark. Balicki's original cross had been blocked, but he quickly regained control and sent the ball in to Crosby who had a good look at the open net with Charlotte's David Martin stuck out of position.
Crosby went on to set up the game's first goal, crossing the ball to senior Andres Perdomo (Pawtucket, R.I.) who drilled a shot into the open goal for a 1-0 lead at the 19:08 mark.
Charlotte (12-5-1, 4-3-1 Atlantic 10) netted the equalizer just eight minutes later when Evan James sent a low header past Warwick and into the bottom left corner of the goal off a pass from Chris Salvaggione. The score would remain knotted at 1-1 through the remainder of the half.
Warwick went on to rob the 49ers' Aaron Kepler of what would have been the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute. Kepler made a quick run down the left side before firing off a high shot that Warwick pulled down to keep the score even at one each. A few minutes later, Warwick made another game-saving stop, blocking Luke Exley's shot from point blank range.
Despite Rhode Island ending regulation with an 18-8 advantage in shots and a 13-3 advantage in corners, the Rams headed into their seventh overtime this season with the score locked at 1-1.
Warwick - who was tested multiple times in the first overtime - remained solid in goal, covering the entire box and stopping shots by Matt Weston, Isaac Cowles and Evan James.
The Rhody offense, meanwhile, continued to pressure Charlotte's back line and eventually saw their aggressiveness pay off when Crosby beat Martin with a quick shot off a pass from freshman Reece Markman (Dallas, Texas) at the 108:32 mark for the 2-1 victory.
"I thought we played really well as a team tonight," added O'Connor. "I proud of the way the guys didn't back down. They continued to fight and kept their intensity right through the end of the game."
In all, Rhody outshot Charlotte 22-11 while out-cornering the Niners by a 13-6 margin. Warwick and Martin each finished with six saves a piece.
The Rams return to the URI Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon when they close out the regular season against No. 10 Saint Louis (9-3-5, 5-3-0 Atlantic 10). Prior to the 1 p.m. start, the Rams will honor seniors Kedan Crosby, Kevin Hamill, Andres Perdomo and James Quiah with a brief pre-game ceremony