Tamed vs. the Tigers: Draw with Towson keeps Rams winless in conference

Jim Swing
Assistant Sports Editor

A gloomy Sunday afternoon in Richmond set the tone for the VCU Women’s soccer team in their matchup against the Towson Tigers. Both teams were unable to produce over the course of 110 minutes of play including double overtime resulting in a 0-0 tie.

The Rams, once again without leading scorer Bre White (Manassas, Va./C.D. Hylton High) who is out with a concussion for the third straight game listed as day-to-day, struggled to find the back of the net for the fourth straight game despite producing nine shots on goal on 17 shots. “I am glad we created more opportunities today,” co-head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak said. “We were very persistent and kept going with a lot of focus so we just need to keep plugging away, however, I don’t want our team to be happy about a tie.”

The conclusion of Sunday’s match marked the 459th minute without a goal for the VCU who is still in search of its first in-conference CAA victory.

The Rams came into the game with a new sense of aggressiveness on defense that contributed to an already physical game with yellow cards being called on Heather Hovanesian (Centreville, Va./Westfield), Aisha Allen (Stafford, Va./North Stafford), and Myriam Bouchard (Quebec City, Quebec/Cardinal Roy). “Our aggressiveness was propelled by our desire to win,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “The team took it upon themselves knowing we needed to step it up a notch.” VCU produced 23 fouls on the day in a game that saw 33 penalties overall.

VCU’s defense put together a stellar performance that allowed Towson only three shots on goal all protected by freshman Megan Lynch (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary). “Our back four were very focused on details and that’s what it comes down to,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “They stayed connected and put forth a solid performance.”

Despite a dry first half that only saw one shot on goal, the game picked up speed in the second half with both teams producing over 11 shots on net.

In the first period of overtime the intensity level rose at the seventh minute mark when Bouchard blasted a shot from outside the box that sailed just high bringing the fans at Sports Backers Stadium to their feet.

After one scoreless overtime period energetic play picked up right where it left off when Towson’s Mellisa Gomes was given a free kick from outside the box that was deflected away by an outstanding Rams defense. The Tigers were right back on the attack when Kim Speese placed a shot that rang off the post allowing a counterattack by VCU’s Lauryn Hutchinson (Sterling, Va./Dominion) who was able get off three shots within six yards on her own rebounds, all rejected by Tigers keeper Jocelyn Papciak.

While a tie may not go down in the win category for the Rams, Roberts Sahaydak believes there is still something to be proud of. “When it comes to a tie I have to look at the result and the performance,” Roberts Sahaydak said. “We had the majority of the game and put our stamp on it and even though we were unable to score I think we performed well.”

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