RICHMOND, Va. -- In a game delayed at the start by 75 minutes due to heavy rain, three goals in a near eight-minute span proved to be the difference as VCU defeated Old Dominion 3-1 in men’s soccer action on Monday night at Sports Backers Stadium.
"Tonight, we didn't play well enough. With that said, good teams find ways to stay in games. We started the second half well and deserved the goal. Credit to VCU they kept knocking on the door and poor defending on set plays really let us down. This group needs to learn hard lessons early in the season and fix them moving forward. We go again Thursday,” said ODU Head Coach Tennant McVea.
VCU (2-0) held possession advantage throughout most of the opening 45 minutes. ODU (1-1) got one good shot on goal as Key White uncorked one from 35 yards out that forced goalie John Ermini off his line to snare it.
After a first half that saw neither team find the back of the net, the Monarchs got on the board in the 58th minute as Michael Eberle gained a loose ball down the left wing, got by Ermini and slid it into the back of the net for an ODU 1-0 advantage at 57:42.
The Rams evened the match on a Papa Toure blast at 80:31 and took the lead on a marker from Andrey Salmeron at 83:16. A penalty kick from Toure at 88:49 provided the final margin.
VCU held an 18-4 advantage in shots and 8-2 in shots on goal on the night. Michael Statham made five saves on the night and had kept the Rams at bay for most of the contest.
ODU completes its three-game road trip to start the season on Thursday night visiting Campbell at 7 p.m. They’ll host Radford to start a five-match home stand on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.