BRISTOL, R.I. – Mount Ida kept their opponents off of the scoreboard for 229 minutes and thirteen seconds to start the 2014 season, but saw both that streak and their two-game win streak come to a close on Thursday evening, as they suffered a 1-0 road defeat to non-conference foe Roger Williams University.
Mount Ida senior goalkeeper Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.) was his busiest of the year, stopping seven shots, but Dan Kelly (Miller Place, N.Y.) connected on a header into the right corner shortly after halftime for his first tally of the year, and the Hawks defense made the goal stand up by limiting Mount Ida to just one shot on goal.
Early on in the contest, Roger Williams kept the offensive pressure on the Mustangs, putting up five shots in the first ten minutes of the game. However, Mount Ida's defense was able to put bodies on the Hawk forwards, making the shots more difficult.
The Hawks had a few close calls in the beginning part of the game. In the 11th minute, Tyler Peckham (Coventry, R.I.) threaded a nice pass up the middle to James Sheldon (Amherst, N.H.), who got ahead of the Mustang defense. With Mount Ida's defenders on his tail, Sheldon put up a shot that sailed wide right.
Sheldon would later deliver the ball to Kelly that was the decisive moment of the game, picking up the assist on the play.
Later in the half, Kelly and Jesse DiPietro (Woodbridge, Conn.) had back-to-back shots on a ball in the box off a corner kick but could not convert.
Though Mount Ida was unable to keep the Hawks out of the scoring area, the defense continued to hold off RWU from scoring. Despite being outshot, 16-4 in the period, the Mustangs only allowed four shots on goal.
Kelly nearly added another goal in the 54th minute with a header towards an open left corner, but Mount Ida defender A.J. Ricketts (Nantucket, Mass.) sacrificed his body to make a heads-up defensive save.
Three minutes later, Pils made a great jumping one-handed save to his right on a long shot by Cooper Allebrand (Santa Barbara, Calif.).
Mount Ida continued to push forward and try to get good looks at the Roger Williams net, which was manned by Tom Mangels (Garden City, N.Y.), who made one save to earn the shutout.
Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) had a shot attempt on a free kick blocked by a wall of Hawk defenders with five minutes to play, which would be the last strong opportunity for the Mustangs to score.
Mount Ida (2-1-0) returns home to host Babson on Wednesday at 7:00 pm, while Roger Williams (2-1-0) continues its five-game home-stand Saturday against Rhode Island College.