VCU Men’s Soccer took the field on a sunny Friday afternoon to begin their 2018-19 season against Georgia Southern. The first 90 minutes of the new season was rather rough as the Eagles spoiled the Rams home opener at Sports Backers Stadium.

Rough Opening Act

Georgia Southern held possession at the early parts of the 1st half. The Eagles got their offense striking and scored the opening goal in the 20’ minute. Javier Carbonell led Adam Davie with the pass towards VCU’s penalty box. Davie forced Mario Sequeira out of his area and the shot was just out the VCU goal keeper’s reach as the Eagles went up 1-0.

The visitors were able to keep testing Sequeira in goal. Sequeira leaped into action just two minutes later on a strike from Samuel Mayer. On that occasion, the VCU goalkeeper succeeded with his first save of the match. Davie was back in action on the following GS corner kick only to hit the ball wide of the goal.

Let’s Attack Back!

VCU continued working from their back line and were able to push the ball upfield. Travis Cooke traveled to the front and took the Ram’s first shot on goal that was saved by Jokull Blaengsson. Siad Haji made progress with his footwork and delivered two corner kicks that nearly found their Black & Gold target.

Both squads nearly added to their goal tally before halftime. Edward Raji sent a shot in the 42’ minute that rung off the post; Georgia Southern almost had a rebound opportunity until a whistle called the visitors for a foul. Cooke had one more crack at goal for VCU with less than 10 seconds on the clock that was saved by Blaengsson once again.

Double-Davie

In the 2nd half, the visitors doubled their lead 10 minutes into the match. Davie scored his second goal of the match on an assist by Mayer. Mayer passed to Davie from the 18-yard line to the 6 where Mayer took a touch and scored. The Eagles were soaring at Sports Backers while the Rams continued battling against the clock.

Joining Cooke and Haji in the VCU attack was Peter Pearson. The three Rams were able to get toward the Eagles penalty area with takes that missed their mark slightly. Georgia Southern’s defense kept the Rams grounded as the Eagles regained possession and fired back at VCU.

Even with Georgia Southern shown two Yellow Cards (Lee Flowers 78’ & Edward Raji 87’) in the match, the Eagles flew past the Rams 2-0 at Sports Backers. Georgia Southern outshot VCU 13-8 and the Eagles had 9 corner kicks compared to the Rams’ 4.

Who’s Next?

Next up for VCU Men’s Soccer is a Sunday Funday duel against Radford. Kick-off is at 5 PM on Sunday, August 26th at Sports Backers.

Mark Turner

Mark graduated from VCU in 2014 with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He started as a fan of the Black & Gold in the stands his freshman year. Mark was known as "Kazie" for his charismatic fandom with the VCU's student organization the Rowdy Rams. While at VCU he gained experience in sports media with WVCW on a sports radio show called Rowdy Radio. Following graduation, Mark continued crafting his social media skills with the Richmond Kickers while also handling VCU coverage. He is a true fan of the Rams and vocally passionate on and off camera. After the final whistle, you can probably find him at local RVA bar or brewery enjoying a drink and conversation.