Benney Koch, Staff Writer
On Monday VCU men’s soccer went up against Old Dominion University in its final non-conference matchup of the season. Despite an energized effort in the second half, VCU lost to ODU 2-1.
ODU scored within the first five minutes of the match. VCU responded with second-year defender Parker Simkins capitalizing on a Monarch turnover, scoring the first official goal for the Rams in the history of the VCU Athletic Village.
The score would remain tied until the final minutes of the first half, when ODU headed in a go-ahead goal. The Monarchs entered halftime with a 2-1 lead.
VCU controlled much of the second half offensively, finishing with 17 shots compared to ODU’s nine. The Rams were able to keep ODU on the defensive and controlled 62% of possession in the match, according to statbroadcast.
Despite 11 shots on goal and hitting the crossbar twice, VCU was unable to save the tying goal.
Simkins said the team’s inability to capitalize on their chances to score was ultimately what kept them from being able to make a comeback in the second half.
“I think that we really controlled the game very well. We just couldn’t find that last goal or we couldn’t find that last finish,” Simkins said.
The loss came only two days after VCU got shut out by UCF, 2-0 on Friday. Despite losing back-to-back games, head coach Dave Giffard said there was a lot to be proud of about the level of energy his team showed against ODU.
“I challenged the guys and I said, ‘Look, win, lose, draw, I don’t care. I want the energy right.’ And the energy was good today, you know it’s just really the execution,” Giffard said.
The Rams now turn their attention toward Atlantic 10 play which will begin next week when they play against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Olean, New York.
“I think we’re starting to improve going forward with how we attack the box and such. If we can keep doing that, we’re gonna find a lot of success in the A10’s,” Simkins said.