2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team

2017 VCU Rams men's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 25
Record12–7–0 (5–2–0 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brett Teach (7th season)
  • Matt Cannady (3rd season)
Home stadiumSports Backers Stadium
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →
2017 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
UMass ‡ 6 – 1 – 1 15 – 4 – 3
VCU + 6 – 2 – 0 13 – 7 – 0
George Washington 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 7 – 2
Dayton 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 8 – 2
No. 11 Fordham + 5 – 2 – 1 14 – 6 – 3
Rhode Island 4 – 3 – 1 10 – 6 – 3
St. Bonaventure 4 – 4 – 0 8 – 9 – 2
Saint Louis 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 9 – 1
Davidson 3 – 4 – 1 8 – 7 – 2
LaSalle 3 – 5 – 0 8 – 9 – 1
Saint Joseph's 1 – 6 – 1 3 – 11 – 4
Duquesne 1 – 7 – 0 3 – 13 – 1
George Mason 0 – 7 – 1 5 – 9 – 2
As of December 13, 2017
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 38th season of the university fielding a program. The Rams were led by eighth-year head coach, Dave Giffard.

For the third straight season, the Rams reached the championship match of the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, but lost for the third straight time. The Rams fell 1-3 to UMass. Despite the loss the Rams earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. It was the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in four years. VCU were seeded 16th, giving the program their first seeding since 2012. The Rams lost in their opening NCAA Tournament match to Butler, 2-3.

Background

Previous season

Further information: 2016 VCU Rams men's soccer team

The Rams team finished the 2016 season 8–9–4, 4–3–1 in A10 play to earn a berth into the 2016 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament. They defeated UMass and Dayton to advance to the A10 Championship, where they lost to Fordham.[1] The Rams did not earn an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament.[2]

Review

Offseason

During the 2016-17 offseason, the Rams lost nine seniors to graduation. The most notable departure was four-year starter, Dakota Barnathan, who declared for the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.[3] Barnathan was selected in the third round, with the 59th pick by FC Dallas.[4][5][6] Barnathan was offered a trial with FC Dallas, and appeared in a couple preseason exhibitions with the club,[7] but ultimately was not offered a contract. After leaving Dallas' camp, Barnathan signed on with second division, United Soccer League outfit, Swope Park Rangers, the reserve team of MLS-outfit, Sporting Kansas City.[8] No other graduates signed professional contracts following their graduation.

In February 2017, the spring 2017 season schedule was announced, where VCU participated in several exhibition matches between March and May.

On November 13, 2017, VCU was announced as the 16th-overall seed in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the 10th time in program history the Rams qualified for the tournament.

Transfers

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Dakota Barnathan 8 MF 6'2" 165 Senior (Redshirt) Massapequa, NY Graduated; entered the 2017 MLS SuperDraft
Kai Marshall 11 MF 6'2" 185 Senior (Redshirt) Charlottesville, VA Graduated
Rahim Costa-Dorsey 77 FW 6'2" 180 Senior Alexandria, VA Graduated
Brandon Eaton 6 MF 5'8" 165 Senior Chesapeake, VA Graduated
Juan Fajardo Ortiz 5 DF 5'10" 160 Senior Coyoles Central, HON Graduated
Jorge Herranz 20 FW 6'0" 175 Senior Madrid, ESP Graduated
Simond Kargbo 14 FW 5'5" 130 Senior Mount Vernon, VA Graduated
Jason McGlothern 31 MF 6'0" 155 Senior Seattle, WA Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Siad Haji 8 FW 5'8" 150 Sophomore Manchester, New Hampshire Transferred from New England College.[9]
Peter Pearson 12 MF 5'7" 155 RS Junior Virginia Beach, Virginia Transferred from Virginia.[10]

Recruits

Name Nat. Hometown High School Club Height Weight Commit date
Brandon Bonilla
MF
  CRC San Jose, CRC — Belén 6'1" 165 April 14, 2017
Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN:
Ulrik Edvardsen
DF
  NOR Bergen, NOR — Brann 6'3" 175 April 14, 2017
Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN:
Bruk Fekade
MF
  ETH Loudoun, VA — Loudoun Soccer Club 5'11" 150 April 14, 2017
Recruit star rankings: TDS: [11] CSN: ESPN:
Jared Greene
FW
  USA Virginia Beach, Virginia Kellam High School Beach FC 6'2" 155 April 14, 2017
Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN:
Jared Mazzola
GK
  USA Katonah, New York Somers High School FC Westchester 6'1" 175 April 14, 2017
Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN:

Roster

As of November 15, 2017.[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
00 GK Costa Rica CRC Mario Sequeira
0 GK United States USA Jared Mazzola
1 GK United States USA Joseph Rice
2 DF Japan JPN Ryo Shimazaki
3 DF Norway NOR Ulrik Edvarsen
4 DF Jamaica JAM Zeron Sewell
5 DF France FRA Steven Dal Molin
6 MF United States USA Lyndsey Moreland
7 MF United States USA Luc Fatton
8 FW Somalia SOM Siad Haji
10 MF Brazil BRA Rafael Andrade Santos
11 MF Spain ESP Fortia Munts
12 MF United States USA Peter Pearson
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF United States USA Travis Cooke
14 FW United States USA Jared Greene
15 DF United States USA R. J. Roberts
16 MF Jamaica JAM Oquin Robinson
17 MF United States USA Eli Lockaby
21 MF United States USA Greg Boehme
22 MF United States USA Anthony Gonnella
23 MF Italy ITA Francesco Amorosino
24 DF United States USA Austin Graham
25 MF United States USA Joseph Gonnella
28 DF Ethiopia ETH Bruk Fekade
32 DF United States USA Kelly Walters
56 GK France FRA Pierre Gardan
77 FW Ghana GHA Andy Mensah

Captains in bold

Schedule

Date
Time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Spring season
03/04/2017
7:00 am 		Montreal Rush T 1–1 
Sports Backers Stadium
Richmond, VA
03/19/2017
1:00 pm 		at Richmond Kickers (USL) W 2–1 
City Stadium
Richmond, VA
03/25/2017
10:00 am 		vs. High Point W 5–0 
Thompson Field
Blacksburg, VA
03/25/2017*
1:00 pm 		at Virginia Tech T 1–1 
Thompson Field
Blacksburg, VA
04/01/2017*
1:00 pm 		vs. West Virginia
Jefferson Cup 		T 2–2 
Strikers Soccer Complex
Glen Allen, VA
04/08/2017*
4:00 pm 		at Radford W 1–0 
Cupp Stadium
Radford, VA
04/22/2017*
1:00 pm 		Elon W 3–0 
Sports Backers Stadium
Richmond, VA
04/22/2017*
7:00 pm 		Longwood W 3–2 
Sports Backers Stadium
Richmond, VA
Exhibitions
08/19/2017*
7:00 pm 		at Pittsburgh W 1–0 
Ambrose Urbanic Field
Pittsburgh, PA
Regular season
08/25/2017*
7:00 pm 		Oakland L 2–3  0–1–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (566)
Richmond, VA
08/27/2017*
7:00 pm 		Appalachian State L 2–3  0–2–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (415)
Richmond, VA
09/01/2017*
7:00 pm 		Iona  Cancelled  0–2–0
 Sports Backers Stadium
Richmond, VA
09/03/2017*
7:00 pm 		Saint Francis (PA) W 3–2  1–2–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (352)
Richmond, VA
09/10/2017*
7:00 pm 		Florida Gulf Coast  Cancelled  1–2–0
 FGCU Soccer Complex
Fort Myers, FL
09/19/2017*
7:00 pm 		at Old Dominion
Rivalry 		L 0–1  1–3–0
 ODU Soccer Complex
Norfolk, VA
09/24/2017*
7:00 pm 		at Coastal Carolina W 1–0  2–3–0
 CCU Soccer Field (130)
Conway, SC
09/30/2017*
7:00 pm 		at No. 15 UNC Wilmington W 1–0 OT 3–3–0
 Legion Field (130)
Wilmington, NC
10/04/2017
7:00 pm 		Davidson W 4–1  4–3–0
(1–0–0) 		Sports Backers Stadium (479)
Richmond, VA
10/07/2017
7:00 pm 		at Fordham W 1–0  5–3–0
(2–0–0) 		Coffey Field (211)
The Bronx, NY
10/11/2017
8:00 pm 		at Saint Louis W 4–0  6–3–0
(3–0–0) 		Hermann Stadium (606)
St. Louis, MO
10/14/2017
7:00 pm 		George Washington L 1–2  6–4–0
(3–1–0) 		Sports Backers Stadium (516)
Richmond, VA
10/18/2017
7:00 pm 		at George Mason
Rivalry 		W 4–0  7–4–0
(4–1–0) 		George Mason Stadium (385)
Fairfax, VA
10/21/2017
7:00 pm 		at Saint Joseph's W 3–0  8–4–0
(5–1–0) 		McCarthy Stadium (1,280)
Philadelphia, PA
10/24/2017*
7:00 pm 		at No. 9 Maryland W 3–0  9–4–0
 Ludwig Field (820)
College Park, MD
10/28/2017
7:00 pm 		Rhode Island W 2–1  10–4–0
(6–1–0) 		Sports Backers Stadium (726)
Richmond, VA
11/02/2017
7:00 pm 		No. 22 at St. Bonaventure L 1–2  10–5–0
(6–2–0) 		Marra Athletics Complex (210)
Olean, NY
Atlantic 10 Tournament
11/05/2017
7:00 pm 		(2) No. 22 at (7) St. Bonaventure
Quarterfinals 		W 4–1  11–5–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (274)
Richmond, VA
11/10/2017
7:30 pm 		(2) No. 24 vs. (6) Rhode Island
Semifinals 		W 2–0  12–5–0
 Baujan Field (164)
Dayton, OH
11/12/2017
12:00 pm 		(2) No. 24 vs. (1) No. 25 UMass
Championship 		L 1–3  12–6–0
 Baujan Field (164)
Dayton, OH
NCAA Tournament
11/19/2017
5:00 pm 		(16) No. 22 No. 24 Butler
Second Round 		L 2–3  12–7–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (679)
Richmond, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

National rankings

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll Pre Wk
1 		Wk
2 		Wk
3 		Wk
4 		Wk
5 		Wk
6 		Wk
7 		Wk
8 		Wk
9 		Wk
10 		Wk
11 		Wk
12 		Wk
13 		Wk
14 		Wk
15 		Wk
16 		Final
United Soccer[13] RV RV RV 22 24 22 None Released RV
TopDrawerSoccer.com[14] RV 17 16 17 25 25 25 25
CollegeSoccerNews.com [15] RV RV 24 26 29 None Released RV

Regional rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
USC Midwest Region 9 9 7 4 4 7

Awards

Recipient Award Date Ref.
Rafael Santos Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year November 13, 2017
Francesco Amorosino Atlantic 10 All-Second Team November 13, 2017
Luc Fatton Atlantic 10 All-Second Team November 13, 2017
Ulrik Edvarsen Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team November 13, 2017
Mario Sequeira Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team November 13, 2017
Rafael Santos CSN Second-Team All-American January 4, 2018
Rafael Santos United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-American January 5, 2018

Season statistics

Team

Individual

Individual Player Statistics (As of January 26, 2017)
Player App Goals Asst Points Shots Shot% SOG SOG% GW Pk-Att GA Saves SO
Forwards
Walters, Andrew 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Midfielders
Agiasiotis, Petros 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Amorosino, Francesco 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Boehme, Greg 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Cooke, Travis 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Gonnella, Joe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Gonnella, Tony 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Lockaby, Eli 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Moreland, Lyndsey 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Munts, Fortia 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Santos, Rafael 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Vargas, Gerald 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Defenders
Dal Molin, Steven 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Ekoue, Cedric 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Graham, Austin 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Roberts, R. J. 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Shimazaki, Ryo 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Goalkeepers
Gardan, Pierre 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Rice, Joseph 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0 0% 0 0-0 0 0 0
Team
Total
Opponents
Legend
 App  Appearances   Asst  Assists   Shot%  Shots for Goal Percent
 SOG  Shots on Goal  SOG%  Shots on Goal Percent  GW  Game Winning Goals
  PK-Att  Penalty Kicks-Attempts   GA  Goals Against   SO  Shut Outs
    Team high

MLS Draft

The following members of the 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.[16]

Player Round Pick Position MLS club Ref.
Rafael Andrade Santos 4 74 MF D.C. United [17]

References

  1. ^ "Men's Soccer Wins Atlantic 10 Championship in Shootout". Fordham Rams. November 13, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "College soccer: Men's DI soccer committee selects championship field". National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. November 15, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  3. ^ Wilson, Adrian (January 30, 2017). "Barnathan drafted, leaves behind legacy". The Commonwealth Times. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Husinger, Nathan (January 17, 2017). "FC Dallas completes draft by selecting former SMU player Marco Carrizales". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo. Retrieved November 17, 2017. VCU midfielder Dakota Barnathan was taken six picks later. He started every game in his last three seasons.
  5. ^ "VCU's Barnathan Selected in Third Round of MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas". Atlantic 10 Conference. January 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  6. ^ "FC Dallas selects four in 3rd & 4th rounds of MLS Superdraft". FC Dallas. January 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. ^ Epperley, Drew (February 11, 2017). "FC Dallas ties Racing Club in pair of scrimmage". Big D Soccer. SB Nation. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  8. ^ Bergabo, Patrick (February 24, 2017). "Swope Park Rangers signs 2017 MLS SuperDraft selection Dakota Barnathan". Sporting Kansas City. sportingkc.com. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "Men's Soccer Adds Siad Haji to 2017 Signing Class". vcuathletics.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Turner, Mark. "Nine Fresh Recruits, Coach Giff Brings New Faces to VCU Men's Soccer". VCUSports.com.
  11. ^ "Bruk Fekade". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  12. ^ "2017 Men's Soccer Roster". vcuathletics.com.
  13. ^ "NCAA DI Men's National Rankings". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. June 12, 2017. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. June 12, 2017.
  15. ^ "CSN Top 30 Polls". CollegeSoccerNews.com. November 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "2018 MLS SuperDraft Tracker". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. January 19, 2018. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  17. ^ "United select Afonso Pinheiro and Rafael Andrade Santos in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft". dcunited.com. D.C. United. January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.