The VCU Rams took on the Richmond
Kickers at the Sports Backers Stadium
in an exhibition match that was all but
friendly.
The Kickers were coming off a 3-0
mauling they dealt to D.C United, and
the Rams were looking to jumpstart their
season in good form.
The Kickers took the lead at the 25th
minute through new star, Adrian Bumbut.
A low-driven shot evaded goalkeeper
Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn
Park), but within 10 minutes, VCU
answered back. The game took a turn
for the worst when VCU defender Peer
Jaekel (Bremen, Germany) was shown
a red card for a vicious tackle. Kicker
Mike Burke came to his teammate’s aid
and was shown a yellow card for shoving
Jaekel to the ground after the tackle.
After the ref retook control of the
game, it looked like the Kickers were
going to notch another card before
halftime but failed to do so during the
many occasions that were presented.
Good defense by the Rams made
sure the game went into halftime one
to one. The Rams came out strong in
the second half and were rewarded for
their persistence.
Through fine passing, they were able
to find Matthijs Maruanaya, who took
the ball inside the 18-yard box and rifled
one into the bottom-right corner. The
Kickers replied with a low-driven cross,
which evaded two Rams and landed at the
feet of Wilfred Smith. Smith took a shot,
which bounced off a Ram and volleyed
right back to him. His second attempt
found the bottom-right corner.
The next chance fell to the Rams when
at the 35th minute, Gerson Dos Santos
(Sao Paulo, Brazil/E.E. Ruth Cabral
Troncarelli) hit the woodwork from
outside 18 yards. From that point on,
it was a possession game for both sides
looking to conserve the tie and prevent
any of their players from suffering an
injury.