The CCRI Knights men’s soccer team hosted the Tigers of Roxbury Community College on Tuesday evening. The Tigers would prevail against the Knights in a 3-1 score line for CCRI’s first loss of the season. The loss drops CCRI’s season record to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in Region XXI play.

The Knights were coming off a win against CCBC Catonsville and a very competitive scrimmage against UMass Dartmouth.  Head coach Gabe Toro was expecting the Knights to come out with great confidence for this first Region XXI game.  Unfortunately, the Knights did not play up to their coach’s expectations. The team made uncharacteristic mistakes in the back and the midfield was unable to break the lines set by Roxbury. These mistakes and struggles led to the first two goals Roxbury goals in both the 26th and 31st minutes of play. At the halftime buzzer, the Knights trailed the Tigers 2-0.  

Early in the second half, Paul Sayles-Perez (Westerly) was able to cut the deficit in half, scoring an unassisted goal for the Knights in the 48th minute with his hustle and grit up top as a forward. Sadly, it was not enough as Roxbury scored for the third time in the 65th minute to cruise to victory. The final score was Roxbury 3, Knights 1. “The team as whole needs to learn from Paul’s desire and work ethic in a collaborative effort in order for the team to achieve a higher level of play” Coach Toro.

The CCRI Knights will be in action on Saturday, September 7th at 7 p.m. as they travel to New Rochelle, NY to face the No. 1 Nationally ranked Monroe College Mustangs.