Salve Regina wins sixth straight with 5-0 final against Bridgewater State

NEWPORT, R.I. (October 6, 2021) - Senior striker Alessandro Oggiano (Stoughton, Mass.) scored two goals and assisted on two others to lead Salve Regina University men's soccer over Bridgewater State University, 5-0, in non-league action at Toppa Field.

Series and Streaks
These teams met five times between 1983 and 1990, with Bridgewater State winning all those matches. The series resumed in 2016 when the Bears topped the Seahawks, 2-0, in Newport. Since then Salve Regina is unbeaten (3-0-1) and has outscored Bridgewater State, 16-3, over the last four meetings. Salve Regina extends its current win streak to six games.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Salve Regina senior Alessandro Oggiano (Stoughton, Mass.) had a goal and an assist in each half tonight to raise his team-leading totals to nine goals, six assists, and 24 points.
2. Salve Regina senior Gordon Gaidish (Hamden, Conn.) got his first career start and contributed an assist after intercepting a Bridgewater pass near midfield.
3. Salve Regina senior Rich Ventura (Floral Park, N.Y.) cleaned up quickly after an Oggiano header caromed off the cross bar for the game's second goal.

Key Stat of the Game
Corner Kicks: Salve Regina 13, Bridgewater State 1

Turning Point
With a 2-0 lead entering the second half, Gordon Gaidish intercepted a Bears' pass near midfield and immediately fed a long pass to Alessandro Oggiano who hooked a left-footed shot into the lower right corner of the goal.

Quick Hits

• After having just one assist and no goals in the first six Seahawk games, Oggiano has scored goals in each of the last six Seahawk games (all wins) and totaled five assists during that stretch.
• Danny Bond (Bristol, Conn.) tallied his first career goal and it gave Salve Regina a 4-0 lead.
• Jordan Borges (Milford, Mass.) executed all but two of the Seahawk corner kicks.
• Nathan Reid (Magnolia, Del.) made three saves in securing his fourth shutout on the season, now running his record in goal to 7-1-1.
• Seahawks honored five seniors and two graduate students prior to the game - Jacob Guerra (Colchester, Conn.), Casey Kelly (Waldwick, N.J.), Rich Ventura (Floral Park, N.Y.), James Davies (London, England), Gordon Gaidish (Hamden, Conn.), Nathan Reid (Magnolia, Del.), Alessandro Oggiano (Stoughton, Mass.). 
• William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made nine saves in just under 74 minutes as his record dropped to 1-3; Luke Ekmanis (Baxter, Tenn.) played at keeper for the final 16:02 in the loss.

Quote
"Winning on Senior Night is always important to the program and you never want your roster to get too wrapped up in the ceremony and pre-game pageantry when there is still a match to be played and a result to be secured. I thought we did well in separating the two – we celebrated the seniors and graduate students first, and then once the whistle blew, we got down to the business of securing the result. First and foremost, Alessandro Oggiano was nothing short of brilliant on the night – each of his goals and each of his assists were simply top shelf and show the overall caliber of player that he is. And having (Rich) Ventura back and healthy in our midfield just allows us to have a much better overall team possession and attacking shape. Honestly, there were several guys tonight who elevated their own individual games and executed their roles well for us - Gordon Gaidish, Danny Bond, Ethan David – all of them were bright and played really well. Gaidish actually got his first career start tonight and did very well for us and even assisted on the third goal, which essentially put the match out of reach for Bridgewater. Now we need to take this momentum and keep it going into the weekend and this next stretch of conference games." -- Seahawk head coach Craig O'Rourke II

Next Up
Salve Regina (8-3-1) returns to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Saturday at Wentworth Institute of Technology (3 p.m.). Bridgewater State (3-7) hosts Worcester State University on Saturday at noon.