Commonwealth Times

[Click to enlarge]

The VCU Rams took on the Richmond Kickers at the Sports Backers Stadium in an exhibition match that was all but friendly.

The Kickers were coming off a 3-0 mauling they dealt to D.C United, and the Rams were looking to jumpstart their season in good form.

The Kickers took the lead at the 25th minute through new star, Adrian Bumbut. A low-driven shot evaded goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park), but within 10 minutes, VCU answered back. The game took a turn for the worst when VCU defender Peer Jaekel (Bremen, Germany) was shown a red card for a vicious tackle. Kicker Mike Burke came to his teammate's aid and was shown a yellow card for shoving Jaekel to the ground after the tackle.

After the ref retook control of the game, it looked like the Kickers were going to notch another card before halftime but failed to do so during the many occasions that were presented.

Good defense by the Rams made sure the game went into halftime one to one. The Rams came out strong in the second half and were rewarded for their persistence.

Through fine passing, they were able to find Matthijs Maruanaya, who took the ball inside the 18-yard box and rifled one into the bottom-right corner. The Kickers replied with a low-driven cross, which evaded two Rams and landed at the feet of Wilfred Smith. Smith took a shot, which bounced off a Ram and volleyed right back to him. His second attempt found the bottom-right corner.

The next chance fell to the Rams when at the 35th minute, Gerson Dos Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/E.E. Ruth Cabral Troncarelli) hit the woodwork from outside 18 yards. From that point on, it was a possession game for both sides looking to conserve the tie and prevent any of their players from suffering an injury.

Article Tools

[Click to enlarge]

The VCU Rams took on the Richmond Kickers at the Sports Backers Stadium in an exhibition match that was all but friendly.

The Kickers were coming off a 3-0 mauling they dealt to D.C United, and the Rams were looking to jumpstart their season in good form.

The Kickers took the lead at the 25th minute through new star, Adrian Bumbut. A low-driven shot evaded goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge/Osbourn Park), but within 10 minutes, VCU answered back. The game took a turn for the worst when VCU defender Peer Jaekel (Bremen, Germany) was shown a red card for a vicious tackle. Kicker Mike Burke came to his teammate's aid and was shown a yellow card for shoving Jaekel to the ground after the tackle.

After the ref retook control of the game, it looked like the Kickers were going to notch another card before halftime but failed to do so during the many occasions that were presented.

Good defense by the Rams made sure the game went into halftime one to one. The Rams came out strong in the second half and were rewarded for their persistence.

Through fine passing, they were able to find Matthijs Maruanaya, who took the ball inside the 18-yard box and rifled one into the bottom-right corner. The Kickers replied with a low-driven cross, which evaded two Rams and landed at the feet of Wilfred Smith. Smith took a shot, which bounced off a Ram and volleyed right back to him. His second attempt found the bottom-right corner.

The next chance fell to the Rams when at the 35th minute, Gerson Dos Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/E.E. Ruth Cabral Troncarelli) hit the woodwork from outside 18 yards. From that point on, it was a possession game for both sides looking to conserve the tie and prevent any of their players from suffering an injury.

Article Tools