Men’s soccer downs Drexel 2-0, face number four ranked UNC Tuesday

Quinn Casteel
Staff Writer

The VCU men’s soccer team found its first victory since a 1-0 win over George Mason back on October 2nd, handling Drexel 2-0 at Sports Backers Stadium on Saturday night. The Rams controlled the pace of the game throughout, dominating a somewhat desperate Drexel squad who fall to 3-5-0 in the CAA. VCU, whose record improves to 3-1-4 in the conference, outshot Drexel 20-8 in the match and 13-3 in the second half alone.

Drexel goalkeeper Pentti Pussinen and the defense held on for the first 36 minutes and change but could not keep the game deadlocked for the entire half. Four offsides calls stymied the Rams’ early attacks, but they continued to push the ball until they managed to capitalize.

With just eight minutes to go in the first half, VCU found a break on offense. Midfielder/forward C.J. Gehin-Scott recovered a rebound and sent a high shot down the middle of the field and into the center of an empty goal as Pussinen found himself caught way out of position. The unassisted goal was Gehin-Scott’s sixth of the season.

“In games in the past, we’ve had most of the possession, but it was just a matter of putting that last piece together up top”, said Gehin-Scott. “That’s usually the hardest piece to put together, but tonight we were able to do it. We were able to get on top first and really take the game to them.”

Jason Johnson and the rest of VCU’s speedy midfielders took control of the match in the second half, keeping the ball in Drexel territory and staying on the attack. The Ram defense faced a minimal amount of pressure as Johnson and Yoram Mwila wore out the Dragons.

“Guys like Yoram (Mwila) and J.J., the work that they put in throughout the year pays off during these games,” said head coach Dave Giffard. “You certainly see the product of the work they’ve put into training, in the weight room and with our exceptional strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn.”

Johnson’s hard work would translate to the scoreboard as well when he put an exclamation point on the match with just over a minute to play. Jake Van Yahres, who launched an open shot off the crossbar earlier in the contest, relieved his frustrations finding Johnson open in the middle of the box. Johnson knocked the shot past Pussinen with ease, allowing the 500 plus in attendance to start celebrating a little sooner.

The Rams have a serious test on their horizon as they face number four ranked North Carolina at home in their next match on Tuesday evening. The Tar Heels are 11-2-1 overall, and are unbeaten in the ACC. They are coming off an emphatic 3-1 victory over Virginia Tech as they travel to Sports Backers this week.

“That’s the reason that players come to schools like VCU, because we’re going to play against the top teams in the country,” said Giffard. “To me, UNC is one of the top two teams in the nation. It’s an opportunity for us to see how we’ve grown throughout the year, and it’s going to be a fun match.”