After two full periods of play and double overtime extinguished, Virginia Commonwealth University managed a 1-1 tie against Virginia Tech Sunday Aug. 28 at Virginia Tech Soccer Stadium.
Despite trailing the Hokies by a goal almost the entire second half of their regular season opener, the Rams were able to avoid defeat after freshman Pernilla Jansson (Enebyberg, Sweden) scored with 1:38 left in regulation. She headed the ball past Tech goalie Mallory Soldner after receiving a well placed pass by senior Hedda Gardsjord (Oslo, Norway).
Virginia Tech put pressure on the Rams early and outshot VCU 4-1 in the first half. Tech sophomore Ashley Stinson was a dominant offensive presence throughout, but made her mark when she scored the first goal of the game. With 33 seconds left in the first half, Stinson tipped in a corner pass from teammate Shannon Poach.
VCU found it tough in the first half to get involved on offense due to the stingy play by Hokie defenders Mary Elizabeth Newton and Lindsay Alexander. Jansson gave credit to her opponents, saying Virginia Tech was more difficult than American University, whom the Rams scored eight goals on in an exhibition game Aug. 20.
“The first half wasn’t that good. (Virginia Tech) outplayed us,” she said. “We were struggling. We picked it up in the second half, though.”
Until Jansson’s goal, the pace of the two teams throughout the second half was even, with each trading off flurries of offensive activity. Shooting was matched at five in the second half, but in the end what made VCU stand out was the strong play by goalie Emily Niman (Pittsburg, Pa.).
She made nine saves in 110 minutes of play, allowing only Stinson’s goal. Numerous times throughout the game Niman challenged Hokie shooters aggressively, charging from the goal to prevent would-be shots. About 20 minutes into the first half, she stopped a potential scoring chance by jumping into a mass of players to grab the ball out of the air and protect the goal.
VCU’s only goal tied the score at one and sent the game into its first 10-minute overtime period. Virginia Tech’s defense continued its dominant play, limiting the Rams to only one shot. Heading into the second and final 10-minute overtime period, VCU managed two shots while preventing Virginia Tech from attempting any. No scoring took place in either overtime periods, ending the game in a tie.
After struggling on the road in their 2004 campaign, VCU fared well in their first game of the season. The Rams were 4-7 in away games last year, contrasting their 11-0 record at Sports Backer Stadium.
After winning the Colonial Athletic Association title and advancing to the National Colligate Athletic Association tournament last year, Niman said the Rams are expected to repeat as conference champions. However, because of their success last season, she said the schedule is going to be much more difficult this year as they play higher ranked teams.
“Tech put a lot of pressure on us,” she said after the game. “This season our out of conference competition is going to be much harder.”