Richmond, Va. – 1,650 people made their way to Sportsbackers Stadium on Monday night to see in-state foes, the VCU Rams and reigning National Champions, the #6 Virginia Cavaliers, face off against each other. For 83 minutes, the two teams held each other scoreless in what was a physical affair. At the 84th minute, UVA’s Derrick Etienne, dribbled his way through six defenders to give UVA the lead and the 1-0 win over the VCU Rams.
“Credit to Derrick, he ran through multiple half-hearted tackles and efforted his way into the goal,” VCU Coach Dave Giffard said. “We certainly had our chances to take the goals and we didn’t get them. As the game wears on, guys get tired and it’s up to someone to make a play and credit to Derrick. He’s a good player and he made a good play.”
The two teams played a back-and-forth match as each had their chances throughout the match. The Cavaliers registered 11 shots, six on goal. VCU had multiple opportunities to score as they took 16 shots in the match, one on goal. However, they were unable to register a goal.
The atmosphere was electric in the stadium. Dave Giffard said that it felt like a playoff game because of the crowd and the intensity the players had on the field. The crowd in attendance for the game was the 4th-largest crowd in Sportsbackers Stadium history.
The loss drops VCU to 2-5-1 and Virginia improves to 5-0-2. VCU hits the road as they face UCLA, the runner-up to the Cavaliers last season.
