Freshman soccer player shines on Senior Day

On Senior Day at Sports Backers
Stadium, it was a freshman who shined
for the Rams.

Jorit Loehr (Bremen, Germany) netted
two goals for VCU, including the
game-winner in overtime, and added an
assist to lead the Rams to a 3-2 win over
Towson.

The Rams entered the weekend with
just six points in conference play and
under increasing pressure to close out
their final matches to qualify for the CAA
tournament. They defeated George Mason
in Fairfax, 3-1, on Friday night to move
closer to the playoffs.

On Sunday, the Rams again proved they
were better than their record indicated.

“In the first few (conference games),
we were unlucky, but now we make our
own goals,” Loehr said. “We’re now very
competitive.”

Loehr got VCU on the board first with a
header from 5 feet out in the 11th minute,
assisted by junior Peer Jaekel (Bremen, Germany).
The goal ended Towson’s shutout
streak, which dated back four matches to
a 2-1 loss on Oct. 12 at Drexel.

The Tigers nearly tied the score in the
27th minute. After having his initial shot
blocked by junior goalkeeper Andrew
Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park), Pat
Healey aimed high just seconds later, and
Dykstra provided a leaping save to tip the
ball over the crossbar. The save was the only
one Dykstra had to make in the half.

Windy conditions made for a struggle
on both ends for Towson in the first half.
Crossing passes suddenly drifted to the net
to become un-intended shots. In the 38th
minute, the Tigers attempted to center the
ball near midfield and advance it into its
offensive zone.

Instead, the ball hung in the air and
sailed backward, creating a scoring chance
for the Rams.

In the second half, the Tigers capitalized
at the end of a series of scoring chances.
Matt Beckman had two corner kicks for
Towson, resulting in six shots in the following
minute. The final one hit pay dirt
for Cesar Cisneros. After a deflection off a
defender, Healey assisted the goal to the left
of Dykstra, barely beating the goalkeeper
to the far post to tie the score at 1-1.

The goal counted, but not without
controversy. It appeared that Cisneros
grounded the airborne ball using his arm,
and the Rams pleaded their case to no
avail.

VCU soon grabbed the lead again. Loehr
brought the ball into the zone down the
left sideline and crossed to senior Matthijs
Maruanaya (Alkmaar, Netherlands/Willem
Blaeu). Maruanaya fed the ball inside
the 18-yard box to junior Gerson Dos
Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/E.E. Ruth Cabral
Troncarelli), who capitalized with a goal
from 10 yards out to give VCU a 2-1
advantage.

The lead was extremely short-lived
as lightning struck twice in the form of
Cisneros, who answered Santos’ tally just
29 seconds after the Rams regained the lead,
again assisted by Healey. Cisneros created
many of the Tigers’ scoring chances seemingly
on his own to collect his fourth and
fifth goals of the season.

Sophomore Damien Friday (Richmond/
Atlee) unloaded a high-velocity shot
from the center of the 18-yard box that
Towson goalkeeper Billy Chiles was able
to get just a piece of to tip it over the net
and preserve the tie in the 73rd minute.
With less than five minutes remaining in
regulation, Jaekel bent a penalty kick into
traffic in front of the net, and the Rams
came close once again as the ball skipped
just left of the goal, sending the match
into overtime knotted at 2-2.

In the fourth minute of overtime,
Loehr scored off an assist from Jaekel to
end the game.

“It was a great cross, and I just tried
to keep the ball in the box,” Loehr said.
“I’m happy to win for the seniors.”

Loehr started at forward in place of
senior Pat Viray (Reston/South Lakes) for
the third consecutive game after playing
the early season as a defender.

“I said to Pat after the last goal, ‘This
one’s for you,’ ” Loehr said.

The three goals allowed by Towson
equaled the combined total they allowed
in six earlier CAA matches.

VCU improves to 4-4 in conference
play and 8-5-2 overall. The Rams will
be on the road for their final three CAA
contests before tournament action gets
underway on Nov. 13.