Rams split pair of exhibition games at home

VCU’s soccer team split its pair of opening exhibition games. On Aug. 16, they beat nearby Longwood University 2-1 at VCU’s Sports Backers stadium. Both of VCU’s points were scored with free kicks after the Lancers put in a loose ball for the first point of the match.

Three days later, the team went on to play Virginia with different results. Virginia’s bench players produced more than VCU’s group of starters. With the Nike/Alltel Classic knocking on the door this weekend, the men’s soccer team needs to close the immense gap between Virginia if they want to be a good team this season. A 0-3 loss to U.Va will be VCU’s warning shot before kicking off the coming season.

The game was relatively uneventful on the side of the Rams, but the numbers spoke volumes in terms of the Cavaliers’ statistics.

Virginia subbed in a second lineup who worked together gathering points and assists. The Rams substituted five players, who were unproductive and just couldn’t be compared to either the starting or bench set of the Cavaliers.

Nico Colaluca snuck a shot by the goalkeeper on his free kick by the 15th minute of the game, and in the second half, the opposition’s bench rotation scored their other two goals.

Thanks to a pass from Virginia teammate Neil Barlow, Sean Hinkle, a substitute player, scored the second point of the game from 12 yards out near the corner on the 50th minute. His shot slid the ball into the top left corner of the goal.

Eighteen minutes later, the Cavaliers scored their third and final point off Matt Ayotte’s head – Chris Tierney popped a cross up into the box so that Ayotte could head-butt it in, securing a shutout victory for U.Va. Both Tierney and Ayotte were

bench players.

By the end of the game, VCU was behind 11-5 shots, shooting four of those five in the first half, then found themselves at a disadvantage on corner kicks, failing to shoot any, while U.Va. shot four, converting one of them.

Looking at last season, the soccer team’s shot percentage suffered; VCU, on average, was taking many more shots per game than the opposition, and getting fewer assists, all the while lowering the all-important goals-shot attempts stat – shooting far more goals and making less

on average.

The split from the exhibitions may have been just what the Rams needed to get their act together before the start of the season, so long as they learned from their mistakes last weekend, and make the best of

next weekend.