October 18, 2008

RAMS DROP 2-0 DECISION TO DREXEL
VCU out shoots second straight opponent, fails to score
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – For the second straight contest, the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team put pressure on the opposing team’s defense all night long and for the second straight game the Rams came out on the wrong end. VCU dropped a 2-0 decision to the Dragons of Drexel University in Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer action on Saturday evening.

The Rams fall to 7-6-0 on the season and 3-3-0 in conference play, while the Dragons improve to 5-4-4 overall and 3-1-2 in CAA action.

VCU tried to put the pressure on the Drexel defense right away as junior Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) lofted a pass from the far side of the box to a cutting C.J. Gehin-Scott (Chesapeake, Va.), but a Dragon defender was able to break up the play to keep the game scoreless in the 13th minute.

Drexel got on the board first in the 22nd minute as Greg Ermold dribbled through midfield and found speedster Carlos Ruthner, who got behind the VCU defense and dribbled around senior goalkeeper Andrew Dysktra (Woodbridge, Va.) to score on the empty netter and give the Dragons a 1-0 advantage.

Loehr tried it again in the 34th minute as he found classmate Forsan Asad-Radwan (Amman, Jordan) in the box, who blasted a shot from 15 yards out, but it went just high as Drexel maintained its one-goal advantage.

The Dragons nearly extended their lead in the 36th minute as Anthony Bafile lofted a nice free kick into the box, where Ermold sent a header just right of the net.

The defenses would lock down as the two teams combined for just two shots over the final 10 minutes of the first half as Drexel held a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission.

Loehr once again tried to ignite the VCU offense in the 57th minute as he started a beautiful give-and-go with classmate Otavio De Luca (Sao Paulo, Brazil), but the Drexel backline was able to stifle the scoring opportunity.

Senior David Rosenbaum (Charlottesville, Va.) came off to give the Rams a spark and nearly tied the game in the 60th minute as he found a loose ball and blasted a shot from the top of the box, but it went just wide to keep the score 1-0 in favor of the Dragons.

Freshman Joseph Haboush (Beirut, Lebanon) (right) gave the VCU offense great minutes in the second half as he set up two great scoring opportunities and lofted a shot from 22 yards out that nearly went into the top left corner of the net in the 84th minute, but it went just wide as Drexel maintained its 1-0 lead.

The Rams gave one last effort in the 86th minute as sophomore Evan Slusser (Prince George, Va.) started a nice give-and-go with junior Michael Denkewitz (Bremen, Germany), but Dragon goalkeeper Cory Robertson came up with the save to keep VCU off the board.

Drexel threatened right away as Bafile delivered a long pass to Mike Crosse who had gotten behind the VCU defense and punched in a goal from just outside the box to beat Dykstra one-on-one and give the Dragons a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

VCU was not able to get anything going in the final minutes as the Black and Gold dropped its second straight CAA contest.

For the second consecutive game, the Rams owned the stat sheet by out shooting Drexel 18-8, but only two of those were on target while the Dragons tested Dykstra throughout the night with five shots on goal.

The Rams are back in action on Wednesday afternoon as they travel south to Atlanta, Ga. to take on the Panthers of Georgia State in a 3 p.m. contest.