October 29, 2008

DEFENSIVE-MINDED RAMS GET PAST OLD DOMINION, 1-0
Black and Gold hold Monarchs to just three second-half goals
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – The strength of the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team shined brightly when it was needed the most as the Rams tighten up the defense to hold Old Dominion to just three second-half shots en route to a crucial 1-0 victory in Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer action on Wednesday night.

The victory was the first in the past five contests for VCU as it improves to 8-6-2 overall and 4-3-2 in conference play. Old Dominion falls to 8-6-2 on the year and 5-3-1 in CAA action.

Old Dominion tested senior goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) right from the start as Steffen Rabben fired two shots on target within the first 12 minutes, but Dykstra made the stops to keep the game scoreless.

Dykstra would get some help from his defense in the 27th minute as Nane Joseph gathered a loose ball at midfield and sped through the VCU defense and nearly set up Rabben, but a great play by junior Michael Denkewitz (Bremen, Germany) ended the Monarch threat.

Ambane Emmanuel nearly put ODU on the board with less than 10 seconds to play as he gathered a pass from Trevor Banks and fired a shot from 10 yards out, but Dykstra made a diving save as the two teams headed to the intermission with the score tied at 0-0.

The halftime speech must have worked as the Rams waited less than two minutes into the second half to put the first tally on the scoreboard as freshman Joseph Haboush (Beirut, Lebanon) slid a nice pass through the box for sophomore C.J. Gehin-Scott (Chesapeake, Va.) who blasted a one-timer into the top right corner of the net to grab a 1-0 lead for VCU.

Junior Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) nearly pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 52nd minute as he gathered a long pass from Ole Laabs (Bremen, Germany) and fired a shot from 25 yards out that went just right of the net. 

The rest of the game belonged to the backline of the Rams as it stifled the potent Old Dominion offensive attack and held them to just two shots in the final 30 minutes of play, none of which were on goal.

Dykstra was outstanding all night long as he tallied eight saves en route to his fifth shutout of the 2008 campaign. He now has 18 shutouts in his outstanding four-year career.

The Rams are back in action on Saturday evening as they travel north to take on the Fightin’ Blue Hens of the University of Delaware in a 7 p.m. contest.