Score: VCU 2, American 2
Location: Washington, D.C. (Reeves Field)
Records: VCU 0-1-2, American 0-1-1
 
THE SHORT STORY: In a frantic finish that saw both teams score three goals in five minutes, VCU Men's Soccer played American to a 2-2 draw in the nation's capital on Friday afternoon.
 
Both VCU and American traded goals over the final 10-plus minutes with the Rams scoring in the 80th minute and American netting a pair in the 79th minute and the 83rd minute. All four goals were scored after the halftime break.
 
"In terms of effort and energy, I can't ask for anything more than what guys gave us today," said head coach Dave Giffard. "Against another NCAA tournament level team, we left it all out on the field. It was good to get Bebe [Moussa Ndiaye] and Scott [McLeod] 90 minutes together even though they are a long way from full fitness.
 
"We need to solve some thing's defensively, with the ball in possession and on set pieces for the group to be what we are capable of being, and that's where we will turn our attention. But saying that, coming off a tough night at top-25 FIU, where we gave up some tough goals, we steadied ourselves and earned a draw.
 
"The way the game went we certainly could have taken all three points but I was proud of the guys for digging in and getting the point. Now we get ourselves ready for North Carolina on Monday night at home."
 
PITCH SIDE
 

• The Rams finished with three shots on goal and six shots total
• VCU got goals from Andrey Salmeron and Nolan Coetzee
• For Salmeron and Coetzee it's their first goals of the season
• Salmeron had two shots to go along with his first career goal, which he scored in the 52nd minute
• Coetzee came off the bench to score his goal in the 80th minute and he finished with just the one shot
• Camilo Comi, who started and played 70 minutes, assisted Coetzee on his goal for his first assist of the season
• John Ermini started and played all 90 minutes, making one save while facing three shots

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Neither side could score in the first half, but American did have a handful of chances. The Eagles knocked one off the post in the 32nd minute and missed one wide right in the 29th minute
• VCU opened the stat sheet with a shot from Andres Rodriguez that was saved by American's Dominic Dominguez in the fourth minute
• Ermini made his only save of the match in the 17th minute when he stopped a shot from American's Toshi Davis
• The Rams began the second half by scoring the first goal of the match, when Salmeron dribbled it past the keeper to put VCU up 1-0 in the 52nd minute
• Salmeron was fed on a perfect ball about 30 yards out from Geraldo Castillo that slide past two defenders and perfectly into Salmeron's path
• The Costa Rican freshman then dribbled it past the keeper, keeping his composure and the ball as he smashed it home for VCU's opening goal
• On American's third corner in just about two minutes, the Eagles equalized with a goal in the 79th minute
• From the kick-off of American's tying goal, VCU quickly worked it down the left side where Comi dribbled it past a defender and with a handful of Eagles bearing down on him zipped a pass into the box
• On the far post a sliding Coetzee slammed home VCU's second goal of the match, punching it past the keeper in the 80th minute and making it 2-1
• During the 83rd minute American found a tying goal to make it 2-2
• Damian Gallegos got one final shot off, that went wide left in the 90th minute, keeping things at 2-2

 
UP NEXT: VCU returns to Sports Backers Stadium on Sept. 4 when they welcome North Carolina for a 7 p.m. kickoff.