October 10, 2009

RAMS CAN’T HOLD LEAD, DROP HEARTBREAKER TO WILLIAM & MARY 2-1
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – For the second time in as many weeks, the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team lost a match in the final minute.

The Rams held a 1-0 advantage through the first 73 minutes of the contest, but a pair of Tribe scores in the final 16 minutes, including the game-winner with 49 seconds remaining, gave William & Mary a 2-1 win Saturday night at Sports Backers Stadium.

VCU (3-6-1) came out strong in the first half as the offense generated several scoring opportunities and kept the Tribe off the board.

Carlos Picado (San Jose, Costa Rica) fired a pair of hard shots in the opening period for the Rams, nearly missing the top of the net on each occasion.  He took a free kick from 25 yards out and pushed the shot high of the net in the 19th minute before blasting a strike just over the cross bar from 35 yards away six minutes before the half.

William & Mary (8-3-0) nearly found the net at 23:05 when Nathaniel Baako hit the left post of a shot from 12 yards out.

VCU would get on the board seven minutes later as Matthew Scott (Woodbridge, Va.) sent a cross from 40 yards away into the box.  Owusu Seykere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana), right, corralled the pass and slipped a shot into the lower right of the net to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.

Baako remained active for the Tribe just after intermission.  Following a breakaway in the 47th minute, he fired a shot to the upper left corner of the goal but VCU keeper Jack Van Arsdale (Richmond, Va.) punched the ball away to register a save.

William & Mary continued to apply pressure as Nicolas Abrigo, who split a pair of VCU defenders in the 63rd minute, had a one-on-one with Van Arsdale, but the freshman keeper came out to make diving save at the top of the box.

The Tribe finally got on the board in the 74th minute.  Andrew Hoxie sent a pass into the box to a cutting Alan Koger, who fired a shot into the lower left of the net to lock the score at 1-1.

With just a minute left in regulation, Seykere used fancy footwork to maneuver through the William & Mary defense and blasted a point-blank shot from five yards away, but McAdams came up with the save to preserve the tie.

In a last effort to win the game, William & Mary’s Roger Bothe sent a cross into the box where Hoxie’s shot from seven yards out sailed past Van Arsdale for the win.

Van Arsdale made his second start in goal for the Rams in place of injured Gabriel Rodriguez (Guatemala City, Guatemala). 

William & Mary held an 8-1 advantage in corners and a 13-10 margin in shots.