October 8, 2008

ASAD-RADWAN STRIKES AGAIN AS RAMS PICK UP KEY ROAD WIN AT JMU, 1-0
Junior nets third goal in two games to lead the offensive attack
Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – If any fans of Colonial Athletic Association soccer do not know who Forsan Asad-Radwan (Amman, Jordan) is, they are quickly finding out as the junior scored his third goal in two games to lead the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team to a huge 1-0 road victory over the Dukes of James Madison University on Wednesday night.

The win is the fifth in the past five games for the Black and Gold as it improves to 6-4-0 on the year and 2-1 in conference action, while JMU falls to 5-4-2 overall and 2-2-0 in CAA play.

The first half was a physical, defensive battle that featured scoring chances for both squads and a penalty kick by junior Otavio De Luca (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was the first of those opportunities.

In the 18th minute, Asad-Radwan was taken down inside the box to give De Luca the penalty kick, but a diving save by the JMU goalkeeper turned away the shot and kept the game scoreless.

Nick Zimmerman unleashed the first scoring chance for the Dukes as he made a great cut inside the box and fired off a shot from 15 yards out, but the shot hit the crossbar to keep the game tied at 0-0 in the 26th minute.

James Madison continued to pressure late in the first half as C.J. Sapong, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year, had three shots on goal in the final 10 minutes, but senior goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) (left) was able to keep the game scoreless entering halftime.

Head Coach Tim O’Sullivan’s halftime speech must have worked as the Black and Gold put relentless pressure on the JMU defense to open up the second half.

After several close scoring chances, junior Alexi Achilleos (Virginia Beach, Va.) lofted a pass into the box and after it bounced around for a while classmate Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) found Asad-Radwan who blasted a shot from 10 yards out into the upper right corner of the net for his third goal in two games. His goal gave the Rams a 1-0 advantage in the 63rd minute of play.

The Rams defense continued to be stifling in the second half as they held the Dukes to just three second half shots and just nine total on the evening, an astounding number for a James Madison team that entered the evening averaging nearly 19 shots.

For Dykstra and the defense it marks the fifth shutout of the season and fourth in the past six contests.

On the evening, VCU owned the edge in nearly every part of the stats sheet with a 15-9 advantage in shots, 7-4 advantage in shots on goal and 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.

The Rams are back in action this Saturday evening as they make the short trip to Williamsburg, Va. to take on the Tribe of William & Mary in a pivotal CAA match-up.