October 11, 2008

LOEHR GIVES RAMS THRILLING 2-1 OVERTIME VICTORY AT WILLIAM & MARY
Asad-Radwan tallies goal and assist
Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Junior Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) hadn’t netted a goal in nearly a month for the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team. The powerful forward picked a great time to break that streak as his goal in double overtime gave the Rams a pivotal 2-1 road victory over the Tribe of William & Mary on Saturday evening in Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer action.

VCU has now won six of its past seven contests to improve to 7-4-0 overall and 3-1-0 in conference action, while the Tribe falls to 6-3-2 on the year and 2-3-0 in CAA play.

William & Mary came out aggressive on the offensive end as it made senior Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) work a little bit with three shots on goal and three corner kicks within the first 15 minutes of action.

After VCU started to bring momentum back on its side, the Tribe quickly seized it back as Price Thomas made a heel pass to a cutting Andrew Hoxie who put his third goal of the season in the left side of the net to give William & Mary a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute of play.

The two defenses would tighten up over the final 10 minutes of the first half as just two shots were registered in that span as the Tribe headed to the intermission with a one-goal advantage.

For the second straight game, the Rams came out fiery in the second half as junior Forsan Asad-Radwan (Amman, Jordan) (left) and classmate Joey Lyonnais (Fredericksburg, Va.) both tested Tribe goalkeeper Andrew McAdams, but came up empty.

The scoring machine known as Asad-Radwan struck in the 70th minute when junior Otavio De Luca (Sao Paulo, Brazil) lofted a pass into the box, allowing Asad-Radwan to leap and head his fourth goal in three games into the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.

VCU would keep the offensive pressure on the Tribe as it had four golden opportunities, including a penalty kick, in the last 10 minutes of action, but McAdams was solid in net and kept the game tied at 1-1 and send the game into overtime.

The Rams continued their aggressiveness forcing McAdams to make three diving saves in the first overtime and testing him again early in the second overtime.

VCU’s relentless offensive play finally paid off in the 105th minute as Asad-Radwan poked a loose ball to Loehr, who blasted his fourth goal of the season into the back of the net to give the Black and Gold a thrilling 2-1 road victory.

The Rams dominated the second half and overtime periods as they outshot the Tribe 15-6 over that span, eight of which were on target.

Overall, VCU outshot William & Mary, 19-11, with Loehr unleashing six shots himself.

Dykstra picked up his seventh win of the season as he registered fives saves in just under 105 minutes of play.

The Rams are back in action next Wednesday as they host the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington in a 7 p.m. contest at VCU's Sports Backers Stadium.