Kingston, RI - Matthew Vowinkel and Jason Ramirez scored first half goals and the Hofstra defense made them stand up as the Pride picked up a 2-0 victory over Rhode Island Thursday night at the URI Soccer Complex in the season opener for both teams.

Hofstra (1-0) got on the board nine minutes in as Vowinkel headed in a cross from Storm Strongin following a corner kick. Ramirez doubled the Hofstra lead at 31:10 as he knocked in a pass across the box from Ryan Carmichael to make it 2-0. The Pride controlled play in the opening 45 minutes, holding an 8-5 advantage in shots, a 4-0 edge in shots on goal, and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

The Rams (0-1) put pressure on the Pride in the second half, but Hofstra would not yield. Rhode Island had seven-second half shots and took three corner kicks but Hofstra keeper Wessel Speel backed up an outstanding defensive effort with three saves in the half.

Stefan Schmidt made four saves for Rhode Island in the losing effort.

Hofstra returns to action Monday night at Stony Brook in the Long island Rivalry game. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m.

Notes:
-This was the first-ever meeting between Hofstra and Rhode Island.
-Vowinkel now has 30 goals and is tied for fifth place all-time at Hofstra with Maid Memic (2011-14) and his 67 career points tie him for eighth place all-time with Patrick Geraghty (1998-01).  
-Strongin recorded his 16th career assist and is tied for eighth place with Alan Bodenstein (1982-85) and Constantinos Christoudias (2004-06) on the Pride's all-time list.
-Carmichael's assist was the first of his career.
-Hofstra is 11-5-4 in its last 20 season openers.
Vowinkel, who led the nation last season in shots on goal per game (2.30), had four on target tonight.