Score: VCU 2, No. 4 Marshall 2
Location: Richmond, Va. / Sports Backers Stadium
Records: VCU (3-3-3, 0-0-1), Marshall (3-0-4)
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THE SHORT STORY
VCU men's soccer scored two shorthanded goals against nationally-ranked No. 4 Marshall on Wednesday night at home to battle back to a 2-2 draw with the Thundering Herd. The Rams challenged a man down for 66 minutes to extended their unbeaten streak to four games.
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PITCH SIDE
- Mohammed Ibrahim had the game-tying goal for his third of the season
- Deniss Hayes scored his second goal of the year
- Maloney recorded a career-best six saves in the match, holding the top-24 scoring offense to a pair of goals
- The Rams were outshot 19-10, but held Marshall's shot-on-goal advantage to just one, 8-7
- Theo Drennan was issued a red card in the 24th minute for a serious foul play
- Both of VCU's goals were scored shorthanded
- Marshall conceded two goals to a team outside the national top 12 for the first time this season
- Ibrahim and Nikita Hayes led the Rams with three shots and two shots on goal apiece
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- Three shots were rattled off in the first ten minutes, in favor of VCU as Andres Rodriguez and N. Hayes kicked off the Rams' offensive charge
- In the 24th minute, Drennan received a red card and the Rams went down to 10 players
- D. Hayes opened the scoring in the contest just four minutes later, lifting a long ball over defenders and goalkeeper Eddie DeMarco to give the Rams a 1-0 lead
- With just 16 seconds remaining in the first half, Marshall netted the tying goal off a corner kick, poking a rebound to the far post for the 1-1 tie
- Marshall added a goal in the 51st minute and the Rams answered off the boot of Ibrahim just eight minutes later
- Maloney made three more saves to hold off the ranked offense
- VCU continued to challenge the Herd, not allowing a shot taken in the final 12 minutes and inducing a pair of saves with shots of their own as VCU forced a 2-2 draw
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QUOTABLE
"I was super proud of the guys for such a gritty performance tonight. To play that long down a man and to fight back after going down showed a ton of character and resiliency. This one is behind us now and we need to get recovered for what will be a really tough trip and game at Fordham this Saturday," Head Coach
Dave Giffard said.
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UP NEXT
VCU will hit the road for its second conference matchup at Fordham on Saturday, Sept. 27, in Bronx, N.Y. at Jack Coffey Field.