With an eight-game winless streak and a winless conference season slowing them down, the VCU men’s soccer team came into Wednesday night’s match with Georgia State looking for an ever-needed victory.
The Ram’s winless streak would finally come to an end as they racked up their first CAA win, 3-0.
“It’s just great to see the guys rewarded for hard work,” said VCU coach Tim O’Sullivan.
From the kickoff, VCU showed the first half would be about missed opportunities as they got seven shots off, with only one coming on goal.
Despite such a steady attack, the Rams were not able to capitalize and the two teams went into the half scoreless. According to O’Sullivan, VCU felt comfortable in that position as six of its seven losses this season have been 1-0 defeats.
“I thought the first 30 minutes were really strong for us, we just couldn’t figure out how to get a goal,” O’Sullivan said.
The second half was a completely different story as the Rams thundered ahead of the Panthers early in the 45 minute stanza.
At 43:20 Romario Blandon (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) cruised into the box and powered a shot toward the Panther keeper. Although his shot was saved, junior Alberto Fonseca was there to put it into the back of the net.
But the Rams, off the momentum from a goal, were far from finished.
Only two minutes later at the 41:02 mark of the second half, Carlos Picardo (San Jose, Costa Rica) reached the box in his attack on the Georgia State defense but was pulled down before he could put on a shot.
Picardo received a golden opportunity with the ensuing penalty kick, which he poked into the lower left-hand corner of the goal.
VCU would score again with 32:07 left in the match. Senior Thomas Huepper (Olpe, Germany) sent a perfect cross to his battery mate and fellow senior Philipp Daldrup (Bremen, Germany).
Daldrup headed the pass into the goal and put his team ahead by three goals, one that would prove to be insurmountable.
Just 13 minutes into the second half the Rams put in three goals and for all intents and purposes put the game away.
The VCU defense held the Panthers for a clean sheet, winning their first match since Sept. 15 by a score of 3-0.
The Rams (4-7-2, 1-5-1) now look to finish the season in strong fashion. Already out of the playoff hunt, now VCU will focus on a home game with Towson on Saturday.