Men’s soccer gets defensive

Neil Raetz
Staff Writer

Goal scorers may get the glory and the headlines but it’s the defense that really captures the success of a team, as is the case with VCU men’s soccer this season. With three wins and two ties to account for, VCU’s men’s soccer team’s solid back line has recorded two shutouts and only three goals in the first five-game stretch.

Junior striker Jason Johnson may have garnered himself the A-10 player of the week honors but without the hard work of the defense, his success won’t always produce a win.

A main component of the defense is that of Costa Rican freshman Dennis Castillo. Not only is he the starting center-back but he was also elected by the team to be one of the three captains of an experienced squad. Castillo joined the Rams in the spring, learning the in-and-outs of the program and his hard work has been rewarded with the respect of his teammates.

“Dennis is a very strong-willed, tough player with great intelligence on the back line who is a very hard worker,” third-year head coach Dave Giffard said.

Maybe some of the success is partially contributed to by the depth they have, with players continuously challenging each other for playing time. “Dennis is just one of several who is important, we are very, very deep on the back line,” Giffard said.

Some complements to Castillio are the two outside backs and fellow Costa Ricans Juan Salano, a CAA all-freshman pick and first-team selection last year as well as his counterpart Juan Arbelaez. Not only are these two key defenders, but their constant penetration on the offensive end is a nightmare for opponents.

A component of the Ram’s play that Giffard outlined is that “we defend with 11 and attack with 11.” This is still something that they’re working on and when they have their game where they want it to be‚ it will be difficult to stop.

“We are improving every week but still have to work on our transition game,” Arbelaez said on the effort so far.

The last pieces to the wall in the back are Assane Keita and Brad Seymour. Keita started the season in the back with a very solid effort before a hard driven ball to the head in the season opener against Bucknell sidelined him with a concussion. Seymour replaced him and has displayed relentless defense while being rewarded with an honor on the all-tournament team when the Rams traveled to UMBC the other weekend.

The Rams will look to continue their five-game unbeaten streak when they head to Florida for a game against a quality Florida Gulf Coast team. In coach Giffard’s first year with the Rams, Florida Gulf Coast made a visit to Sports Backers Stadium, taking down the Rams on the last play of overtime on a 55-yard free kick.

“They are a very good team, Top 25, played in the NCAA tournament last year, so it will be a good tournament style game,” Giffard said. “They have a similar style of play as we do, a possession game. We’re excited to get down there and test ourselves.”

Giffard will look to get some revenge when the teams take the field at 7:30 on Friday night.