October 22, 2008

RAMS STAY IN CAA TOURNAMENT HUNT WITH 1-1 TIE AT GEORGIA STATE
Loehr’s goal in 82nd minute earns crucial tie on the road
Box Score

ATLANTA, Ga. – It is going to be quite a final two weeks in the race for the Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer tournament and Virginia Commonwealth University is making sure it will be in the mix as the Rams picked up a 1-1 tie against the Panthers of Georgia State in a key CAA road contest on Wednesday evening.

The tie is the first of the season for the Black and Gold as VCU now holds a 7-6-1 overall record with a 3-3-1 mark in CAA play, while the Panthers now sit at 4-6-4 in 2008 and 0-4-3 in conference action.

Entering the evening tied for fifth-place, the Rams now find themselves just on the outskirts of the CAA Tournament race with 11 points, good enough for seventh-place. However, VCU is just four points behind first-place UNC Wilmington and yet another exciting evening of men’s soccer action in the CAA. 

Georgia State wasted little time putting the pressure on the Rams as Eduardo Liza lofted a free kick that Christopher Peacos was able to tip into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead just 13:01 into the contest.

VCU would turn it right around, attacking the Panthers defense with countless shots on goal and forcing Georgia State goalkeeper Filipe Carvalho to make four first-half saves as the Panthers took a 1-0 advantage into the intermission.

The defenses controlled the tempo for much of the second half until junior forward Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) gathered a loose ball inside the box and blasted a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 82nd minute of play.

After a scoreless final eight minutes of action, the two teams headed into overtime with the game tied at 1-1.

The momentum stayed with VCU as the Rams unleashed seven shots in the first overtime against just one for Georgia State, but Carvalho and Black and Gold goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) made save after save to send the game into a second overtime.

The defenses flexed their muscles once again in the second overtime as each team only got off one shot in the final 10 minutes as the contest finished in a 1-1 tie.

It was the sixth straight game that VCU has out shot its opponent as the Rams bombarded the Panthers with 20 shots on the evening, while Georgia State got off just eight shots.

Loehr, senior David Rosenbaum (Washington, D.C.) and junior Otavio De Luca (Sao Paulo, Brazil) (left) each registered four shots in the contest.

The Rams are back in action on Saturday evening as they travel north to take on the Tigers of Towson University in a pivotal CAA match-up. Game time is set for 1 p.m.