The Virginia Commonwealth men’s soccer team rallied in dramatic fashion late Sunday night, stunning No. 13 Maryland on its own turf, 3-2.
The Rams (1-1-1), who trailed 2-0 with just under 20 minutes to play, staged a furious comeback and scored three times in the final 13 minutes of the game.
Jose Manel converted a penalty kick in the 78th minute to cut the VCU deficit to 2-1. One minute later, Kharlton Belmar tied the game 2-2. In the 87th minute, the comeback was completed when Devon Fisher struck to put the Rams ahead for the first time all night.
VCU goalkeeper Andrew Wells made eight saves to give the Rams chance to rally.
Goals by Jake Pace and Chris Odoi-Atsem gave the Terrapins (1-2-1) an early 2-0 lead, with Patrick Mullins assisting on both plays. Maryland did not record a shot in the final 15 minutes.
VCU jumped to No. 17 in the national rankings after a strong week and stay on the road Friday against fifth-ranked Akron at 7 p.m.
Saint Louis stays unbeaten
Junior forward Kingsley Bryce broke a scoreless tie in double overtime to give No. 14 Saint Louis a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois on Sunday. The lengthy contest which featured 28 fouls, 13 corners and four bookings (one red), ended in the 105th minute when Bryce was set up in the box by junior Robert Kristo and senior Alex Sweetin.
The Billikens improved to 3-0 on the season.
Saint Louis was in control for most of the game, firing off 24 shots and landing seven on goal. The Huskies (1-3) mustered 11 shots with only one reaching St. Louis goalkeeper Nick Shackelford.
Despite the advantage in shots, the game stayed level, as the Billikens could not solve Northern Illinois goalie Andrew Glaeser until early in the second extra period.
Robert Kristo came off the bench to lead the charge for the Saint Louis attack, launching a team-high nine shots including three on goal. For the Huskies, it was Sean Totsch who registered the only shot on goal.
The Billikens return to action Wednesday with a road match up against Evansville.
Flyers win Classic
Dayton took home the 2013 Dayton Flyer Classic with a 2-0 shutout of Lipscomb on Sunday. Senior Abe Keller provided all the offense for the Flyers, scoring twice to give Dayton the win in the tournament’s championship game. The Flyers (3-0) picked up their first shutout of the year.
The Bison outshot Dayton 12-10, but only got three of its shots onto Flyers keeper Chris Froschauer. Dayton had the better quality chances, landing eight of its 10 attempts on net.
Keller opened the scoring just five minutes into the game, giving the Flyers a lead they would never relinquish. He provided an insurance strike in the 56th minute to make it 2-0.
Flyers defender Christopher Lenning was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Dayton s next game is Friday against Western Illinois in the Missouri State Tournament.
Ross Gienieczko can be reached at [email protected].
