October 31, 2009

VCU DROPS HOME FINALE, 2-1, AGAINST DELAWARE
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – It was not a happy farewell for the eight seniors on the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team Saturday as the Rams dropped their home finale against Delaware, 2-1, at Sports Backers Stadium.

With the loss, VCU falls to 5-9-2 overall and 2-7-1 in Colonial Athletic Association action, while Delaware improves to 6-12-0 and 3-7-0 in conference play.  

VCU senior midfielder Owusu Seykere was active early in the match for the Rams.  He took a feed from James Neighbour inside the box and fired a point-blank shot from 10 yards out in the ninth minute, but Delaware keeper Conrad Rasnak came up with the save.

Four minutes later, Mirweis Zahelzei snuck a pass to Thomas Huepper before sending a tap back to Seykere, who fired a strike high of the net.

Seykere used fancy footwork to maneuver though the Blue Hens’ defense in the 15th minute and sent a shot just over the crossbar to continue the Rams’ early offensive pursuit.

Delaware answered with a pair of close strikes of its own.  The Blue Hens had back-to-back opportunities to get on the board in the 22nd minute as Chilbasah Faisal sent a shot from 20 yards out in the middle of the pitch before Courtney Hewitt sent a shot from just outside the right corner of the box.

The Blue Hens continued to pressure the VCU defense and found the back of the net in the 31st minute.  Jon Scheer sent a free kick from 40 yards out into the box and found Roberto Vernaschi, who slipped a header past a diving Jack Van Arsdale for a 1-0 lead.

Darren Christie broke loose through the middle of the VCU defense in the 41st minute and sent a shot into the right of the net to give Delaware a 2-0 advantage before the break.

The Rams made a push in the second half as they posted back-to-back shots in the 77th minute but Rasnak came up with a pair of saves to keep VCU off the board.  Alberto Fonseca sent a point blank strike before Neighbour fired the rebound back at Rasnak.

Carlos Picado scored his third goal of the season to pull the Rams within a score in the 83rd minute, sending a shot from outside the box into the right of the net.

The Blue Hens were forced to play a man down for the final six minutes of the match after Darren O’Connor was issued his second yellow card.  VCU tried to take advantage with pressure on the Delaware defense, but couldn’t find the net after a furry of shots.

VCU held a 12-8 margin in shots and a 4-3 advantage in corners.

The Rams conclude the regular season with a 6 p.m., match at Northeastern on Sat., Nov. 7.