After shutting out Delaware 5-0 Friday, VCU found itself involved in a tight,
1-0 final Sunday afternoon against Drexel at Sports Backers Stadium. This time,
the Rams were on the wrong side of the scoreboard and got blanked for the third
time this season.
Both teams struggled with early shots, but Drexel was the fastest team up and
down the field.
VCU played sluggishly from the onset and had trouble with the unseasonable
heat and humidity. Senior Sven Meusch (Cologne, Germany), sophomore Owusu
Sekyere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana/Opoku Ware) and freshman Carlos Herdy (Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil) all suffered from cramps throughout the match and, at times,
had to be substituted temporarily.
The Rams had one of their best chances to score when they took control of
the ball after a failed Drexel clearing attempt in the 42nd minute. Meusch, one of
the team’s most aggressive attackers, struggled with a cramp. Instead of posting
up at his center position inside the 18-yard box, he lay on the ground on the left
wing outside of scoring range.
The conference foes went to the locker room tied 0-0 after a slow-paced first
half.
After the intermission, Drexel was quick to strike and take the lead. Carlos
Ruthner tallied the only goal of the match from 8 yards out off a feed from Anthony
Bafile on the right side at the 47:55 mark.
The Rams saved their best scoring chances for the final 10 minutes of the
match, firing seven shots. In the 81st minute, junior Gerson Dos Santos (Sao
Paulo, Brazil/E.E. Ruth Cabral Troncarelli) hit the crossbar on a shot from 9 yards
out. The ball rolled over the net and out of play, ending the threat. Dos Santos
lacked his usual rhythm until that point, having fired just one previous shot that
carried well wide of the goal.
Despite out-shooting the Dragons in both halves, 20-9 for the match overall,
the Rams came up short.
The Rams also dominated the corner kick comparison, 5-1. The final one in
the final minute ended the match with confusion. A handball was called against
Drexel, which stopped the clock, and the Dragons were uncertain as to why the
remaining seconds did not expire. The result was a corner kick for VCU by Matthijs
Maruanaya (Alkmaar, Netherlands/Willem Blaeu), who sailed the ball into play
just over the heads of the Rams’ attackers. One of those attackers was goalkeeper
Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park), who ventured across midfield and
into the scoring zone for the final sequence.
With the loss, VCU dropped to 5-2-2 overall and 1-1 in the CAA. Drexel
improved to the same record overall but moved ahead of VCU in conference
standings at 2-0.