The Rams defeated Northeastern 2-0 on Senior Day Sunday to break a 12-match losing streak. The win was the first for VCU since Sept. 14 when the Rams beat Penn 3-1. The two goals were the first goals VCU has scored since an Oct. 15 loss to Richmond.
In the first half, both defenses shut down scoring opportunities by the opposition. The Huskies used good passing to advance the ball down the field and get off a shot in the 10th minute of the game but senior Laura Baker (Kent, England/Langley Park) was there for the save. Northeastern’s defense stopped three penalty corner shots by VCU in the first half. With about seven minutes left in the first half, a Northeastern goal was disallowed because the shot was taken outside the scoring circle. In the final two minutes of the half, Baker came up with two saves to keep the game tied at 0-0.
In the beginning of the second half, the Rams turned up the offensive pressure. Junior Rachel Krumm (Norfolk/Granby) scored the first goal of the game in the 40th minute off of a penalty corner shot. Senior Alaina Vernetti (Fredericksburg/Massaponax) passed the ball in to sophomore Flore van Dessel (Oisterwijk, The Netherlands/Odulphus Lyceum), who stopped the ball. Krumm unleashed a hard shot into the goal to give VCU a 1-0 lead.
The second goal came in the 58th minute. Sophomore Marle van Dessel (Oisterwijk, The Netherlands/Odulphus Lyceum) emerged from a scramble at the top of the scoring circle with ball, then made a backhanded shot in the upper left corner of the goal to give VCU a 2-0 lead.
After the Marle van Dessel goal, the Huskies turned up the offensive pressure on VCU. Northeastern controlled the ball for most of the last 10 minutes of the game but could not score a goal. VCU used great defense to turn away the scoring chances. Marle van Dessel blocked several penalty corner shots by the Huskies down the stretch. Baker made a save with about five minutes remaining in the game to preserve the shutout.
The win improved the Rams’ final season record to 1-7 in the CAA and 5-14 overall.