October 7, 2009

RAMS FALL 2-0 IN HOME MATCH AGAINST CAA FOE JAMES MADISON
Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University goalkeeper Gabriel Rodriguez (Guatemala City, Guatemala) made a season-high six saves in the net, but the James Madison University offense was too much for the Rams as VCU fell 2-0 Wednesday at Sports Backers Stadium.

The teams battled for possession the majority of the opening period, but James Madison (6-2-0, 1-1)took advantage of a VCU foul in the 20th minute to take an early 1-0 lead.  Sefan Durr lined up for a free kick from 25 yards out and sent a pass to a cutting CJ Sapong in the box, who launched a shot past Rodriguez from five yards away.

VCU (3-5-1, 0-2) generated several scoring opportunities in the second half.  Romario Blandon (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) broke through the JMU defense and sprinted down the left sideline in the 52nd minute.  He sent a cross to Carlos Picado (San Jose, Costa Rica) in the box, who took a running shot off his left foot high of the goal.

Sapong continued to pressure the VCU defense as he brook loose down the left sideline and nearly put the Dukes on the board again in the 56th minute.  He split a pair of Ram defenders and fired a shot wide right of the net.

Less than 10 minutes later, Owusu Seykere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana) handled a pass from Alberto Fonseca (San Jose, Costa Rica) and fired a strike directly at JMU keeper Ken Manahan, who came up with four saves on the night, but he was able to deflect the point blank shot high in the air and come up with a save.

Blandon pressured again in the 64th minute as his free kick from 30 yards out took a sharp turn and just missed the right post.

Durr would team with Sapong once more in the 74th minute to secure the Dukes’ game-winning score.  Rodriguez came up with a diving save on Durr’s shot from seven yards away, but Sapong was in firing range again, sending the rebound into the lower right corner of the goal.

Sapong, who finished the night with a game-high six shots with five on target, nearly registered a hat trick as he found the back of the net with less than 30 seconds remaining, but an offside call kept the score at 2-0.

Each team registered 14 shots, while JMU held a 5-2 advantage in corners.