Weekend Preview: Sept. 13

Staff Reports

Men’s soccer 

The VCU men’s soccer team (3-0-2) has started hot out of the gates once again, having not lost a match in the opening three weeks of the season. Led by Jason Johnson’s three goals in the last two games, the Rams have exploded to a 3-0 win over Winthrop and a 5-1 torching of Seton Hall in their last two outings.

Defensively, VCU has been stout as well. The team’s back line has yet to allow more than one goal in a match and already have two shutouts to their name.

The Rams will travel to the Sunshine State this weekend to face Florida Gulf Coast of the Atlantic Sun conference on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Gulf Coast finished 2011 as the 44th ranked program in the RPI, putting them in the top 25 percent of the country.

The match will be an important tune-up for the Rams’ huge match-up with James Madison, which takes place just four days later. The Dukes took down No. 1 North Carolina 1-0 on Tuesday night.

Women’s soccer

With a dramatic win over a solid team in Pittsburgh last Sunday afternoon, the VCU women’s soccer team has now gone unbeaten in their last nine home matches.

Courtney Conrad’s game-winning goal in overtime lifted the Rams over the Panthers and above the .500 mark for the first time since they lost to Akron on Aug. 24. VCU will seek to ride the momentum from Conrad’s goal and keep the dominant home streak alive on Friday when they host UMBC at Sports Backers Stadium.

The Retrievers are 1-6-1 on the season and have lost three straight matches by virtue of shutouts, losing 1-0 to Long Island, 3-0 to Bucknell and 1-0 to Longwood. UMBC has not found the net since they pounded St. Peter’s 5-0 on Aug. 31.

Volleyball

There is no VCU team hotter than the volleyball squad at this point in the season. Eighth-year head coach James Finley has had the team playing in mid-season form since day one, and the Rams have won nine of their first 10 matches in 2012.

This season is a campaign of revenge in some ways for VCU volleyball, as Finley and the upperclassmen have come in on a mission after losing in heartbreaking fashion to Delaware in the CAA Championship last year.

VCU will have a chance to extend their five-game winning streak to as many as eight this weekend, as they are slated for a doubleheader with Army and Albany on Friday followed by a date with Sacred Heart on Sunday. The Rams will try and capture their third tournament crown of the season at the Army Invitational at West Point.

Field hockey

The undefeated (4-0) VCU field hockey team will take the field against Davidson on Friday evening in their third straight road match. The Rams are a perfect 2-0 so far on their current road swing, coming off a 2-1 win at Longwood and a 3-2 win over Monmouth.

Senior Haley McBee’s four goals and two assists are good for the team lead in points with 10, while captain Kelsey Scherrer is close behind with eight points on three goals and two assists. Emilie Soares scored her second goal of the young season last time out against Monmouth, and will likely be a center piece of the offense moving forward alongside fellow veterans McBee and Scherrer.

VCU’s scoring trio will look to remain hot against Davidson on Friday when they take on the 2-3 Wildcats. After their bout with Davidson, VCU still has three more road matches ahead of them before they finally return to Richmond to face Hofstra on Sept. 28.