#2 VCU Men’s Soccer took on #6 Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Semi-Finals in Dayton, Ohio. A post-season battle of the Rams took place at Baujan Field where the Black & Gold punched their ticket to the Final for the third straight year.
Hold The Tempo
The first 20 minutes of action was a physical contest between VCU and Rhode Island. There were limited opportunities for both squads at goal with each defense locking down the opposition. Luc Fatton and Rafael Andrade Santos used every blade of grass to find some room to get a strike off their boots.
Rhode Island gifted VCU an opportunity with a free kick near the half-hour mark. Santos unleashed a promising kick that just spun high over the goal. From there, VCU’s offense started to open the field more with their passing and crosses towards Rhody’s penalty area.
Defend This House
URI nearly had the opening goal in the 38th minute as Mario Sequeira went down in the box. Emil Jesman Sunde took the shot on goal that rung off the cross-bar and bounced back. VCU was able to clear the danger out to keep the match 0-0.
Sequeira was tested early in the 2nd half with URI’s offense starting to pick up speed. The VCU goalkeeper out of Costa Rica held strong in between the posts making 3 saves in less than 3 minutes. Sequeira made 6 total saves during the match.
Highlight Heel!
VCU changed the tide on offense as the Rams started to cook on their side of the field. Fatton and Santos were joined by Francesco Amorosino to create some promising chances on URI’s goal. The tie was broken in the 70th minute with a highlight goal to remember.
Luc Fatton collected the ball near the 18-yard line. Fatton was able to spin by Rhody’s backline and moved the ball towards the 6 to find Santos for the pass. The ball rolled just behind Santos which caused the senior to launch a back heel strike that flew into the bottom corner of the net.
#AnotherShot
An additional back heel was shown in the 82nd minute by Siad Haji. Travis Cooke sent a cross in front of goal that got by Rhody’s goalkeeper. Fortia Munts got a boot on it but couldn’t control it while Siad Haji saved it from going out of play. Haji unleashed a fancy backheel shot at a difficult angle to double VCU’s lead.
Rhody couldn’t come up with the goals as the final whistle ended the match. For the third consecutive season, VCU Men’s Soccer is heading to the Atlantic 10 Championship match with their 2-0 win over Rhode Island.
VCU Men’s Soccer returns to Baujan Field to take on #1 Massachusettes for the A-10 Men’s Soccer Championship. Kick-off is set for 12 PM on Sunday, November 12th.
