In a matchup that was held as part of the STIHL Classic, the Virginia Commonwealth men’s soccer team dominated Jacksonville in a 3-0 win on Sunday night in Virginia.
While the stat line might depict a somewhat competitive game, the Rams maintained possession of the ball throughout the contest, capitalizing on many of their first half opportunities.
Despite boasting a strong defensive lineup, it was the offense that would step up for VCU in the game, with Luc Fatton managing to find the net early in the 13th minute of the game.
Adding on to a dazzling first half display, both Jason McGlothern and Rafael Andrade Santos would score minutes later, extending the Rams lead to 3-0.
Jacksonville struggled against the Rams’ backline, but nearly converted on multiple free kick opportunities.
One kick in particular, taken in the 61st minute, would have been the first goal of the game for Jacksonville if not for a diving save by VCU’s sophomore goalkeeper Pierre Gardan.
VCU would cruise through the rest of the game, gaining its second shutout of the season.
URI comes from behind
The University of Rhode Island hosted Quinnipiac Saturday night, giving their fans a show with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory.
The game proved to be a scoreless affair through the first 20 minutes, until Quinnipiac’s Rashawn Dally scored his first goal of the season.
The Bobcats’ Matt Taylor dribbled his way through midfield on a break, setting up Dally for a strike to put the Bobcats up 1-0.
Quinnipiac’s strong defensive efforts kept the Rams scoreless through most of the game.
But Rhode Island tied the game on a clever through ball by Ryan Bailey, as teammate Dante Lamb cradled the pass and dribbled past the goalie in the 56th minute.
Bailey proved to be the man of the match for the Rams, notching the second goal of the game for his squad after a nice give-and-go in the 68th minute.
Desperate for their first win of the season, Quinnipiac showed life in the 89th minute with a couple of close chances, but it wasn’t enough.
WMU hammers SBU in 8-0 rout
St. Bonaventure faced a tough start to 2015, and it didn’t get any easier last Friday against Western Michigan.
The Broncos (4-0), who have garnered votes in the top 25 polls, unleashed an onslaught against the Bonnies, scoring five goals in the first half en route to an 8-0 victory. Western Michigan was paced by Nick Wysong, Connor Ferguson and Carlos Suarez, who all scored goals in the first 45 minutes.
The Broncos got on the score sheet early, as Dzenan Nezirevic finished a cross from teammate Sean Hazen in the seventh minute. They never looked back, finishing with 26 shots on goal to the Bonnies’ two.
St. Bonaventure (1-5) goalkeeper Bobby Diaz finished with eight saves in the loss.
Chris Martinez can be reached at [email protected]
