GWU Blanks No. 20 VCU, 1-0, on Sunday Afternoon; Finishes 2-0 at the UAB 'Soccer for a Cure' Classic
September 18, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Birmingham, Ala. - Gardner-Webb finished the weekend out strong, as the men's soccer team posted a 1-0 shutout win over the No. 20 Virginia Commonwealth University Rams to go 2-0 on the weekend at the UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic hosted by the University of Alabama - Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama.
The win, which is GWU's second straight, bumps the Runnin' Bulldogs to 3-2-2 overall on the season. The loss drops VCU, who was ranked No. 20 overall in the NSCAA Top-25 poll, to 5-3 on the year.
Both teams came out looking to score early, as the VCU Rams' put two quick shots on line less than eight minutes into the contest, testing both GWU goalkeeper Scott Krotee, who made a save on the first shot attempt, and the Runnin' Bulldog defense.
After GWU's first shot by junior midfielder John Sargent was stopped by the VCU goalkeeper in the 11th minute, the Rams quickly tried to take control of the match early, firing off four more shots which all sailed wide over the next 15 minutes of play.
In the 38th minute, GWU's Krotee made his second stop of the match in goal for GWU, hauling in a Yoram Mwila shot attempt to keep the score tied up at 0-0.
One minute later, in the 39th minute, GWU's offense was able to get off a shot of its own, as sophomore Marius Hammersmark had his shot blocked, setting up the Runnin' Bulldogs for a corner kick.
On the ensuing corner kick, Hammersmark played the ball toward the middle of the field where Sargent blasted a shot that sailed wide.
The play would be a precursor of what was to come, as on the next GWU corner kick only minutes later in the 40th minute, Hammersmark played a pass off the corner kick to Sargent once more, who this time blasted a shot from 25 yards out and put the ball into the back of the net to give Gardner-Webb the 1-0 lead.
The goal was Sargent's second of the season and his second goal in consecutive matches.
With a 1-0 lead coming out of the halftime intermission, GWU looked to find an insurance goal early in the second half. However, in the early minutes of the second half, VCU was the aggressor outshooting the Runnin' Bulldogs 3-1 over the first 15 minutes in the second frame.
Gardner-Webb had three scoring opportunities come up unsuccessful in the early goings of the first half, as in the 55th minute sophomore midfielder Brice Nardozzi had his first shot attempt saved by VCU's Josh Pantazelos.
In the 65th minute, Sargent had his scoring attempt blocked by a VCU defender, while in the 69th minute fellow teammate Chris Davis had his shot attempt blocked as well, keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs with 20 minutes to play in regulation.
While Gardner-Webb struggled to find an insurance goal, Krotee was big for the Runnin' Bulldogs in goal as he faced nine VCU shot attempts in the final 45 minutes of play, making two saves in that stretch and four total stops for the match, which helped to lead GWU to a 1-0 shutout win.
The win is Krotee's second of the season, as both victories came over the weekend at the UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic.
Gardner-Webb, who was outshot by VCU 17-11 for the match, converted what prove to be the only goal of the match on only three shots on goal.
The weekend was one of firsts for the GWU men's soccer program, as in their first-ever meetings with these two schools, the Runnin' Bulldogs posted its first ever wins over both Wisconsin-Milwaukee and VCU.
The 2-0 weekend placed the Runnin' Bulldogs in second-place for the tournament due to total goals, as host UAB, who also went 2-0 for the tournament, scored more goals (4) than GWU (3).
GWU placed three players on the all-tournament team in Sargent, Jon Ole Reinhardsen and Krotee.
Gardner-Webb (3-2-2) will open up conference play on the road next Friday night, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will face off with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at 6 p.m. on September 23rd in Conway, S.C.
Live stats will be available at www.goccusports.com, while the match is also slated to be video streamed live on the Big South Network presented by State Farm. The video streamed can be accessed by going to www.bigsouthsports.com. Links to both live stats and the live video feed are available on the men's soccer schedule page at www.gwusports.com.
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UAB "Soccer For A Cure" Classic All-Tournament Team
Mladen Lemez, UAB (MVP)
Reed Matte, UAB
Joshua Stewart, UAB
Norris Howze, UAB
John Sargent, Gardner-Webb
Jon Ole Reinhardsen, Gardner-Webb
Scott Krotee, Gardner-Webb
Nick Langford, Milwaukee
Adam Hutchinson, Milwaukee
Nick Rich, VCU
Romena Bowie, VCU
| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 1, No. 20 VCU 0 |
