Soccer: men cold after layoff, women hot entering conference play

Nick Versaw

Staff Writer

Women’s soccer (5-2-2) enjoyed a successful week of conference play, drawing A-10 foe Dayton University 0-0 at home before defeating Davidson University 3-2 on the road. The men (1-3) were not so lucky, as they looked cold after a 16-day layoff in a 1-0 loss at Old Dominion University.   

 

Women vs. Davidson

 

Women’s soccer opened up A-10 competition with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Davidson University on Sunday afternoon.

 

Junior defender Stephanie Stahl opened up the scoring for the Black and Gold in the 30th minute. Stahl curved her shot into the upper far corner of the net from outside the box after sophomore defender Amanda Tredway fed her from midfield.

 

Junior midfielder Maddi Santo doubled the Rams lead in the 52nd minute after freshman midfielder Samantha Jerabek slid a nifty feed through the Davidson back line.

 

A pair of second-half goals from the Wildcats were not enough to overcome the offensive onslaught by the Black and Gold. Santo knocked in her second goal of the afternoon in the 76th minute after a failed clearance gave her a golden opportunity to put things away for good.

 

The match was not nearly as close as the final scoreline would suggest, as the Rams outshot Davidson 25-6, with 11 of those efforts finding their target.

 

Women vs. Dayton

 

The Rams opened up Atlantic 10 competition Thursday, playing to a 0-0 draw against Dayton University at Sports Backers Stadium.

 

It would be the second time in as many games the Rams would see a 0-0 final score, moving the Black and Gold to 4-2-2 on the season.

 

VCU dominated the stat sheet after ripping off 25 shots on the night, but unfortunately Dayton keeper Kaelyn Johns was a brick wall, stopping all 10 of the Rams’ on-target shots.

 

Tredway, junior forward Julia Suarez and freshman midfielder Lyndsey Gutzmer each ripped five shots on the night, with the freshman leading the way with three on goal after becoming the early catalyst for the Rams.

 

Despite the Rams coming out strong in the game’s opening minutes, the Flyers would have the best chance of the first half after a Madeleine Morrissey shot would ricochet off the crossbar in the 42nd minute of action.

 

The Black and Gold would hold a 7-3 shot advantage at the half, but the game still sat scoreless after 45 minutes.

 

The Rams would come out of the gates strong, with freshman midfielder Kimberly Ito getting a shot off in the half’s opening seconds, but the offense would soon begin to fall flat.

 

Dayton began to pick up the pace in the game’s final 10 minutes as the Flyers narrowly missed the net twice and put up four total chances in the closing minutes. Ultimately, VCU redshirt-junior goalkeeper Audrey Sanderson kept them off the board, securing a 0-0 draw for the Rams.

 

Men at Old Dominion

 

Men’s soccer came out cold after a 16-day layoff, falling to in-state rival Old Dominion University 1-0 Tuesday.

 

The Monarchs dominated the game early, holding the Rams without a shot until the 30th minute, when senior midfielder Luc Fatton broke through to put a header on goal — the game’s best chance for either team until that point.

 

Unfortunately for the Rams, just three minutes later, ODU’s Niko Klosterhalfen was able to sneak in behind the Black and Gold backline and put the Monarch’s up 1-0.

 

Just before the end of the first half, senior midfielder Francesco Amorosino gave the Rams another solid chance to get on the board, only to have his shot saved by ODU keeper Mertcan Akar.

 

In the second half, the Rams were unable to get through their opponent’s defense, as the Monarchs would ultimately prevent the Black and Gold from putting a single shot on target the rest of the game.

 

The Rams kicked up the offense in the game’s final 30 minutes, but were unable to get on the scoreboard, ultimately falling to the Monarchs 1-0 for their third loss of the season.

 

Women’s soccer will look to continue their winning ways at Duquesne University on Thursday at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the men will look to get their season on track at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington on Saturday at 7 p.m.  

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