Men’s soccer falls out of top-25 rankings after home upset

Jacob Medley-36 — Photo by Jacob Medley.

Men’s soccer’s five-game win-streak, which lasted almost a month, ended Saturday night in upset.

The then No. 18 ranked Rams outshot their opponents George Washington University 26-5 and dominated possession at home, but in the end were reminded soccer can be a cruel sport as they conceded two goals to the visitors before grabbing one back in the end.

Redshirt-senior midfielder Francesco Amorosino, redshirt-junior midfielder Peter Pearson and senior midfielder Rafael Andrade Santos would’ve been disappointed not to hit the back of the net early on. Each had attempts on goal in the game’s opening 10 minutes.

Against the run of play, GW put a dagger in the Rams’ hearts in the 22nd minute. The Colonials’ senior midfielder Oliver Curry scored off a free kick from 35 yards out — the ball took a bounce before it snuck into the far post past VCU’s freshman goalkeeper Mario Sequeira.

After the Colonials maintained the one-goal advantage through halftime, VCU brought the same beast, but a different animal to the second half — bombarding the GW goal with 17 shots, ensuring the Colonials’ goalkeeper, junior Thor Arne Hӧfs, was kept busy for 45 minutes.

However, George Washington again scored against the run of play in the 79th minute when junior forward Dylan Lightbourne put the ball in the back of the net, making it 2-0.

VCU finally got on the scoresheet in the 83rd minute when junior midfielder Lyndsey Moreland found Amorosino from a long way out. The D.C.native made no mistake in front of goal, finishing the shot past Hӧfs and maybe, the team hoped, catalyzing a comeback for the Rams.

The Rams certainly fought for that outcome, managing to register four shots in the game’s last 8 minutes. The Colonials were no pushovers, however, and managed to get their own opportunities on goal.

But a comeback wasn’t on the books — at least not on this starry night in Richmond.

VCU’s impressive run of wins — spanning five games in 26 days — is over. The team’s loss was also its first in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season. In addition, the team’s run in the NCAA Top-25 rankings is over.

The Rams will have a chance to fight to be considered in next week’s rankings when they face George Mason University in Fairfax Wednesday and Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia Saturday.

Fadel Allassan

Contributing Writer