Rams fall to #4 Hoosiers

Coming off a winning streak, Men’s Soccer fell 5-0 Friday after a dominant first half from Hoosiers of Indiana University Bloomington, ranked fourth in the country.

Not only did VCU have to face a top-five team, they also had to do it away from their home turf. In this matchup the Hoosiers showed exactly why they rank number four in the country.

Feeding off the home energy, the Hoosiers scored back-to-back goals within minutes of each other. Indiana scored the first goal of the game when midfielder Spencer Glass hit an unassisted left-footed shot on goal in the 19th minute.

A second goal came in the 22nd minute from sophomore forward Justin Rennicks. Following Rennicks’ goal, senior defender Andrew Gutman fired from the top of the 18 into the left side of the net just one minute later, marking the third goal for the Hoosiers.

To close out an explosive offensive half, the Hoosiers scored two more goals in the first 45 minutes. Both A.J. Palazzolo and Rece Buckmaster joined in on the scoring action with goals of their own. Palazzolo was assisted by Trevor Swartz and Buckmaster was assisted by Joe Schmidt and Glass.

The second half remained scoreless, as the Hoosiers sat back to protect their advantage.

VCU’s inability to take shots and shots on goal derailed them — the Rams only had one shot on goal and two shots overall compared to the Hoosiers’ seven shots on goal and twelve shots altogether. The loss dropped VCU to 3-2 for the season.

The Rams return home Sept. 19 to compete against Old Dominion University at 7 p.m. The following week, VCU will go up against No. 14 Akron University on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.

Nile McNair Contributing Writer