Men's Soccer Falls at Virginia Commonwealth, 2-0

RICHMOND, Va. Virginia Commonwealth scored an early goal and managed to hold Seton Hall off the board before adding a late tally for a 2-0 win in men’s soccer action at the Nike/ALLTEL Classic on Sunday at Sports Backers Stadium. With the loss Seton Hall falls to 0-2 on the young season, marking the first time since 1997 that it has begun a year winless through two games. VCU’s David Rosenbaum had a goal and an assist to even their mark at 1-1 on the season.

Virginia Commonwealth scored the eventual game-winner at the 7:10 mark when Evan Morris took a pass from Rosenbaum and sent a cross into the box from 40 yards out that sailed into the back of the net over the Seton Hall defense. The Pirates tried to pull level before half, taking a 5-4 shot advantage, but Andrew Dykstra turned away the lone shot that was on target.

The Pirates continued to pressure the rams in the second half, but could not pull even. Sophomore Eliseo Giusfredi (Paterson, N.J.) spurred most of the attack, taking nine shots on the day, but his attempt in the 54^th minute deflected off the crossbar. Dykstra turned away two other SHU attempts before the Rams got an insurance goal in the 79^th minute. Rosenbaum finished off a corner from Thomas Weingartner to put VCU up 2-0.

The two teams both managed 13 shots, but VCU was more effective, scoring twice and forcing senior Ian Joyce (Kinnelon, N.J.) into making seven saves on the day.

The Pirates return to action next weekend at the Soccerpost.com Classic in West Long Branch, N.J. Seton Hall faces Adelphi on Friday, Sept.1, at 3:00 p.m. and then play Monmouth on Sunday, Sept. 3, at 3:00 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

                                    1    2        F

Seton Hall (0-2-0)           0    0    -- 1

Virginia Comm. (1-1-0)    1    1    -- 2

7:10      VCU     Evan Morris (1) (D. Rosenbaum)

78:34    VCU     D. Rosenbaum (1) (T. Weingartner)

UNOFFICIAL STAT SUMMARY

Shots:  SHU 13, VCU 13

Corner Kicks:  SHU 1, VCU 2

Saves:  SHU 7 (Joyce 7); VCU 3 (Dykstra 3)

Offsides: SHU 3, VCU 4