Before Tuesday, VCU had scored only
six goals in the first half in its previous
19 games. Against UNC Wilmington,
the fourth-seeded Rams netted three
goals in the first 45 minutes to beat the
fifth-seeded Seahawks 3-1 in a CAA
tournament quarterfinals match.
After both teams had scoring opportunities
thwarted by offsides calls in
the first five minutes, VCU got on the
board in the ninth minute.
After making a run toward the Seahawks’
goal, the Rams ended up with a
corner kick. Midfielder Megan Flanagan
(Franktown, Colo./Ponderosa) took the
kick and lifted it into the middle of the
6-yard box.
Forward June Hartman (Virginia
Beach/Tallwood) jumped in an attempt
to head the ball in, but the ball skipped
backward over her head. However,
Myriam Bouchard (Quebec, Canada/Cardinal
Roy) was waiting behind her and
knocked in the deflection to a wide-open
right side of the net to give the Rams a
1-0 lead. Flanagan’s assist was one of
three, a career-high.
Two minutes later, the Seahawks had
two opportunities to even the score, but
failed on both. VCU goalie Emily Niman
(Pittsburgh/Fox Chapel Area) made an
outstanding save in which she was able
to knock the ball over the crossbar after
a straightaway shot from 22 yards.
Bouchard headed the ensuing corner
kick over the crossbar before it could
touch the ground, causing another
corner. UNC Wilmington elected to
attempt a short kick this time, setting
up perfectly for a Jenna Evans shot from
just outside the 18-yard box. However,
Evans’ shot sailed wide left, leaving
VCU’s lead intact.
The Rams kicked the game into high
gear in the 21st minute, scoring two goals
within 1:04 of one other to take a 3-0 lead.
At the 20:07 mark, Flanagan brought the
ball up the middle of the field toward
the right side of the 18-yard box.
She then crossed the ball across the
box to a wide-open Hartman, who kicked
a ground ball from 6 yards out that rolled
under the outstretched body of Seahawks
goalie Emily Pratt.
Flanagan set up Bouchard for the
second time at the 21:51 mark to give
VCU its final goal. Flanagan passed the
ball to Bouchard in the middle of the field,
25 yards away from the goal. Bouchard
wound up and fired a shot that whizzed
into the left side of the net.
“I didn’t think it was going in . but I
had good touch on it,” Bouchard said.
With a 3-0 lead coming out of halftime,
the Rams played a ball control-oriented
attack the rest of the way. However, the
Seahawks kept attacking, and it finally
paid off in the 66th minute. When the
Seahawks played a long ball into the
VCU 18-yard box, Niman came out to
grab the ball and halt the Wilmington
attack.
Niman and a Wilmington player
collided while going for the ball, and
the VCU keeper was called for a foul,
resulting in a penalty kick. Jenny Cauble
took the kick for the Seahawks and
knocked it into the right side of the net.
The Rams defense was able to hold out
the rest of the way.
VCU will take the field again on Friday
against top-seeded William and Mary in
a semifinals match. The game will be
played in Virginia Beach and will start
at 7:30 p.m.