Box Score: RV VCU 2, RV Rhode Island 0
Location: Richmond, Va. / Sports Backers Stadium
Records:  VCU (3-1-2, 1-0 A-10), Rhode Island (4-1-2, 0-1 A-10)
 
THE SHORT STORY: Facing the national leader in save percentage and goals against average, VCU put on nothing short of a spectacular show, to earn a commanding victory over Rhode Island in its Atlantic 10 conference opener.
 
PITCH SIDE

• VCU opened its Atlantic 10 schedule with a commanding 2-0 victory over Rhode Island, earning its first win in an A-10 opener since 2021
• Midfielder Mouhamed Tucker scored his first career goal
• With the game-winning goal, Papa Toure found the back of the net for the third time this season
• Andrey Salmeron and Andres Rodriguez were credited with the assists
• VCU advances to 3-0 against opponents appearing ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches national top 25 poll
• The host dominated possession, as VCU controlled the ball 64% of the time
• Outshooting Rhode Island 22-5, VCU posted the most shots in a match since it made 22 shots against George Mason on Nov. 9, 2019
• VCU didn't allow Rhode Island to take a shot in the final 30 minutes of play, holding the visitors to just one shot on goal in the second half
• Four VCU Rams contributed three or more shots as Toure led the team with four and William Hitchcock, Gerardo Castillo and Damian Gallegos added three of their own
• A whopping 11 VCU players made a shot, six of them tallying at least one shot on goal
• VCU continues its undefeated streak at home against Rhody, advancing to 3-0-1 in Richmond in the all-time series
• John Ermini earned his second shutout of the week, making a save on Rhody's lone shot on goal
• For the second time this week, VCU faced a goalkeeper who had allowed just one goal to date and scored a pair—Rhode Island's Edu Rodriguez and Penn's Phillip Falcon III each arrived at VCU with a .952 save percentage, the former as the national leader in the statistic
• In its third consecutive match, VCU played an unbeaten opponent, securing a draw at Campbell and a pair of wins against No. 15 Penn and RV Rhode Island

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rhode Island was aggressive right out of the gate as forward Brandon Bermingham was blocked on the first shot attempt of the game in the second minute
• Castillo's swift answer induced the game's first save by Rodriguez in the sixth minute
• Breaking open the scoreless game early, a beautiful feed from Salmeron set Toure up for a remarkable finish, lining the first goal of the evening past E. Rodriguez in the 12^th minute
• Opening the second half, six different VCU Rams tallied shots before VCU added its second goal
• In the 67^th minute, A. Rodriguez came out on top of a battle for the ball, and ripped a ball-in to Tucker, who caught it mid-air to launch his first career goal past the national leader between the posts
• Gallegos made his presence felt late in Rhode Island's defensive third as he ripped a hard shot just wide and followed with a pair of shots on goal in the 77^th and 79^th minutes
• Pressing into the final minutes, VCU carried its commanding offensive presence to full time adding a trio of shots over the las 10 minutes of play, and coming up with a 2-0 victory to open A-10 competition

 
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH GIFFARD
"It was a great way to open A-10 play. I feel like we had pretty good control of the game, scored two good goals and could have had a few others. Still many things that need to improve, but hopefully we can learn while we win and continue to improve each week."  – VCU Head Coach Dave Giffard
 
UP NEXT:
VCU will face a pair of currently-ranked opponents on the road next week in No. 10 Marshall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Huntington, W.Va., and No. 25 Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.