September 4, 2009

RAMS OPEN SEASON WITH 3-0 SHUTOUT AGAINST ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.)
Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – A goal in the 11th minute was all Virginia Commonwealth University would need en route to a 3-0 victory Friday evening against St. Francis (N.Y.) in the season opener for both squads.

“It’s good to get a win,” said VCU head coach Tim O’Sullivan.  “I thought the guys battled hard and competed hard defensively.  Our goalkeeping was outstanding again.  We scored three goals.  Those are all encouraging signs.” 

Romario Blandon (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) found James Neighbour (Liphook, England) at the 10:30 mark in the opening period to put the Rams on top 1-0.

Thanks to a steady offensive presence, the Rams, who outshot St. Francis 7-2 in the first half, were able to extend their lead nine minutes later as Owusu Sekyere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana) found the net from 10 yards out to give VCU a two-goal advantage.

Just 2:25 into the second half, Blandon was part of the offense again, scoring an insurance goal to give the Rams a 3-0 lead.

“Getting results now is really important,” said O’Sullivan.  “It gets confidence going and buys you a little bit more time to get your team better each day and still get wins at the same time.  Our group did a good job in doing that.  They worked hard to keep the shutout and to win the game.

“We mentioned to the group that this time of year, teams are still trying to find their way a little bit and get better.” 

Gabriel Rodriguez (Guatemala City, Mexico), who earned the win in goal, made five saves on the night and continued to make his presence felt defensively, much like his performance in the Rams’ three exhibition matches.

“Gabriel was a real plus again,” O’Sullivan noted.  “He was totally outstanding and came up with a few very good saves when he needed to and it obviously helped us win.  He was a real pleasant surprise.” 

VCU outshot St. Francis 14-10, but the Terriers held a 5-3 advantage in corners.

Blandon and Sekyere each finished with four shots, while Philipp Daldrup (Bremen, Germany) registered a pair of shots off the bench for the Rams.

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