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CCRI men’s soccer advances to the NJCAA National Tournament for first time in school history

November 2, 2022

A bitter finish to its 2021 season paved the way for a glorious run through the 2022 NJCAA Division III Region XXI Tournament for the Community College of Rhode Island men’s soccer team.

The No. 3 seed Knights capped a perfect run through the tournament Sunday with a 5-1 over fifth-seeded Holyoke Community College to capture their first Region XXI title in more than two decades and earn the program’s first trip to the NJCAA D-III National Tournament, which begins next week. CCRI is 7-6-1 heading into the NJCAAs.

CCRI’s historic run began with an 8-0 win over No. 6 seed MassBay Community College in the Region XXI quarterfinals and continued Saturday with a 1-0 win over second-seeded Bunker Hill Community College, avenging last year’s loss to the Bulldogs by the exact same score in the regional championship game.

The National Tournament begins Wednesday, November 9 at Genesee Community College in Batavia, NY. The Knights are one of eight teams in the country vying for a national championship and will learn the tournament seed and quarterfinal opponent during Thursday’s selection show.

“We had an incredible run this week. The team rose to the occasion and came out on top, fulfilling the promise they made to each other last year in the championship game,” said CCRI head coach Gabe Toro. “What a great ending to our 2022 season. Myself, coach Mike Jerue, and coach Rafal Murawski are impressed with all the players on the roster and how they played together to make each other better and come out victorious.”

Five different players scored in Sunday’s championship game victory, representing one of the Knights’ most well-balanced efforts all season. First-Team All-Region XXI selection Roy Barrios (Pawtucket, RI), the team’s leading scorer in 2022, got the ball rolling with the game’s first goal at the 6:58 mark.

From there, it was all CCRI as Juan Galvis (Central Falls, RI), Sebastian Coso (Pawtucket, RI), and Cam’ron Aldana (Providence, RI) scored during a dominant 25-minute stretch to give the Knights a 4-0 lead at the half. Sophomore co-captain and Second Team All-RegionXXI selection Wilson Penafiel (Providence, RI) iced the game with CCRI’s fifth goal at the 46:30 mark. Freshman goalkeeper Brady Linfield (Burrillville, RI) stopped four shots to earn the victory in net.

“I know we are capable of playing this way. We have the ability to have full control of the ball and use each other to become even more dangerous on the attack,” said Toro. “I talk to my players all the time about being in a flow, a team rhythm that is reached when everyone plays unselfishly and completely trusts and believes in each other. A lot of combination and quick give-and-go passes really kept us in rhythm.

“It was a thing of beauty of watch. We’ve been working with them all year on playing with a purpose, playing with intent, and dominating the ball while being clinical with all of their touches.”

In addition to his goal in the regional finals, Aldana also scored the game-winner against Bunker Hill in the semifinals with 11:15 remaining, capping a spectacular effort on both sides of the ball that started with Linfield (12 saves) and the Knights’ defense.

Toro was particularly impressed with the performance of Aldana, Cristian Justiniano (North Providence, RI), Schneider Macombe (Providence, RI), and Christian Muñoz (Pawtucket, RI). Aldana scored the lone goal on a header courtesy of a free kick into the box from sophomore Aaron Ramos (Warwick, RI).