November 1, 2008

RAMS OUTSHOOT BLUE HENS, BUT FALL TO DELAWARE IN OVERTIME, 1-0
Black and Gold face must-win situation against Northeastern

RICHMOND, Va. – With the Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer standings in a complete logjam entering the final week of regular season play, the mission for Virginia Commonwealth University is now clear, the Rams must beat Northeastern to advance to the upcoming CAA Tournament.

VCU dropped a tough road match-up against the Fightin’ Blue Hens of the University of Delaware on Saturday evening, 1-0, in overtime.

With the loss, the Rams fall to 8-7-2 overall and 4-4-2 in conference action, while Delaware improves to 3-12-3 on the year and 2-7-1 in CAA play.

The Black and Gold was aggressive all night on the offensive end with 19 shots, 10 of which were on target, but Blue Hen goal keeper Conrad Rusnak was the story on the evening make a career-high 10 saves to keep Delaware in the game.

After VCU dominated the 90-minute regulation period, Delaware gained control early in the first overtime and forced senior goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) to make a save in the first three minutes and then Andy Streilien poked home his fourth goal of the season off an assist from Demar Stephenson, just 3:13 into the first overtime to pick up the victory.

Sophomore Thomas Huepper (Olpe, Germany) led the way for the Rams unleashing six shots on the evening, while freshman Joseph Haboush (Beirut, Lebanon) got two shots on goal in his first career start.

The Rams now face a must-win situation in their regular-season finale against Northeastern on Thursday evening at VCU’s Sports Backers Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Stay tuned to VCUathletics.com for updates on the CAA Tournament picture as more scores roll in from tonight’s conference action.