August 21, 2009

VCU BATTLES DUKE TO SCORELESS TIE IN FIRST OF THREE EXHIBITION MATCHES

DURHAM, N.C. – The Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer program is eager to regain its presence in the Colonial Athletic Association this fall. 

After an entire offseason of training, the team took the field Friday night and battled Duke University to a scoreless tie in the first of three exhibition matches to start the 2009 season.

VCU threatened early in the first half as senior Owusu Seykere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana) recorded a shot in both the 14th and 16th minutes.  Each sailed wide of the goal and resulted in a pair of corner kicks, but the Rams couldn’t find the back of the net either time.

Duke nearly got on the board just over 10 minutes later as the Blue Devils registered three shots within a 15-second span.  Josh Bienefeld hit the post before Andrew Wenger fired off the rebound, but Rams’ goalie Gabriel Rodriguez (Guatemala City, Mexico) came up with the save. Temi Molinar’s following shot was blocked, ending the Duke surge.

Rodriguez made another stop on a strong shot just five minutes into the second half to keep Duke off the board.

The Blue Devils had a chance to win the game in the final seconds of regulation as the entire lineup surrounded the goal for a corner kick.  The Rams cleared the ball to the top of the penalty box where the final Duke shot was blocked over the goal as time expired.

The Rams’ defense held strong throughout the course of the game as Duke outshot VCU, 14-5.  After threatening early, the Black & Gold offense managed just three shots over the final 74 minutes of the contest.

VCU hopes three preseason matches against Atlantic Coast Conference foes will help prepare the team for regular season action.  The Black & Gold will face the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday at 7 p.m., before returning home to host instate rival Virginia Tech on August 28 at Sports Backers Stadium.