March 28, 2009

DYKSTRA SIGNS CONTRACT WITH CHICAGO FIRE
Former Black & Gold goaltender joins former Ram, Segares, on MLS squad

CHICAGO, Ill. – Head Coach Tim O’Sullivan of the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer program stated several times this past season that he thought that his senior goaltender Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) had the best opportunity to play at the next level.

Late Friday, that statement became reality when Dykstra signed a professional contract with Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire. He will join former Ram, Gonzalo Segares, who is entering his fifth season with the Fire.

“I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to join Chicago,” Dykstra said. “Being consistently one of the top teams in the MLS, Chicago has an excellent group of experienced players that make for a great training environment. I am hoping to learn a lot from starter Jon Busch and goalkeeper coach Darryl Shore. I’m excited to have this kind of jumping point for my career.”

Dykstra earned All-CAA Second Team honors after making countless diving saves on his way to registering five shutouts and tallying 70 saves. He held opponents to just 0.97 goals-against-average in 1667:39 minutes of action.

“Dyke in my opinion was the best goalkeeper in the CAA this past year,” O’Sullivan said. “I felt all year long he was the top performer on our team and the best in the conference. He gave all he had to this school and this program and I’m happy that he got the chance to show his skills on the professional level.”

He finished his career ranking second in school history in shutouts with 18, second in minutes played with over 6,600 and second in games started with 71.

“I feel grateful for the chance to play at VCU,” Dykstra said. ‘I was really luck to learn from goalkeeper Saul Montero my first year, along with having gained valuable experience from a professional keeper in Ronnie Pascale. I feel that my time at VCU enabled me to get this awesome opportunity.”

Dykstra and the Fire open up their home schedule on Sunday, April 5th when the Red Bulls of New York visit Chicago.