Rams play alumni ‘all-star team’

Imagine a game where everyone on the field, including referee Chris Bernard, is a VCU Ram. Or was. The 2005 men’s soccer squad battled alumni of the club to a 1-1 tie Friday, Aug. 26, at Sports Backers Stadium. The Rams faced a physical defense, and both teams went scoreless in the first half.

“It’s like an all-star game, these are the best alumni,” head coach Tim O’Sullivan said of the team. “The selection of 11 is very good. We can find out more about the team.”

With the success of VCU’s program, many alumni are current or former professional players, including several with the Richmond Kickers. Senior Associate Athletic Director Jeff Cupps said the players “are really legends from the program, and it is exciting for them and exciting for us,” to host the match. As for organizing the match, it is largely hands off for the athletic department.

“All we need to do is get the field,” O’Sullivan said.

Anthony Sherwood, who played with the Rams from 1991-1993 pulls together the alumni team from different eras of Rams. The game is “something that the guys look forward to each year,” Sherwood said.

His main challenge is “just coordinating things – making sure everyone’s available. Everyone has the sense that the alumni game’s coming up.”

Sherwood who played professionally with the Dallas Sidekicks and Hampton Roads Hurricanes, doesn’t have a hard time keeping an eye on today’s squad, he works as an admissions counselor at VCU undergraduate admissions.

“As the years have gone by we’ve had a stronger and stronger and stronger team,” Sherwood said.

The first game wasn’t kind to the 11th-ranked Rams, who fell 1-2 to the University of Virginia, No. 6 nationally, in a preseason exhibition Saturday, Aug. 20.

“It wasn’t a great soccer game by either team,” O’Sullivan said, noting that his team only had three days of practice prior to the trip to Charlottesville.

Preseason favorites in the Colonial Athletic Association coaches poll, the Rams look to repeat as regular season champions, regain the crown that Hofstra captured in last year’s turbulent tournament and strike deep into the NCAA tournament.

James Madison University and Old Dominion University, nipping at VCU’s heels in the national top 25 polls, are seeking the limelight as well.

The alumni game became more important when visa problems grounded the Ghana Under-17 team, forcing the cancellation of another VCU exhibition game.

“This time of year you just need games,” O’Sullivan said bluntly, “the game’s always the best teacher.”