2018 VCU Rams men's soccer team

The 2018 VCU Rams men's soccer team represents Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 39th season of the university fielding a program. The Rams were be led by ninth-year head coach, Dave Giffard.

2018 VCU Rams men's soccer
Atlantic 10 Regular Season Champions
ODU Soccer Classic Champions
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
2018 record10–6–2 (6–1–1 A10)
Head coachDavid Giffard (9th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Brett Teach (8th season)
  • Matt Cannady (4th season)
Home stadiumSports Backers Stadium
2018 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
VCU 6 –1 –1  10 –6 –2
Davidson 5 –2 –1  9 –7 –2
Rhode Island ‡ 5 –3 –0  15 –5 –0
George Mason 5 –3 –0  9 –8 –0
Saint Louis 3 –1 –4  6 –4 –7
Fordham 4 –3 –1  8 –5 –4
Dayton 4 –3 –1  9 –6 –4
Saint Joseph's 2 –3 –3  8 –7 –3
UMass 3 –5 –0  7 –8 –3
St. Bonaventure 3 –5 –0  7 –9 –1
Duquesne 2 –4 –2  4 –9 –3
George Washington 1 –5 –2  5 –9 –3
LaSalle 0 –5 –2  3 –11 –3
As of December 11, 2018; Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The 2018 season saw the Rams win the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season for the first time in program history, amassing a 6-1-1 conference record. It was the Rams' first conference regular season championship since 2004.[1]

Background
Main article: 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team

The 2017 VCU men's soccer team finished the season with a 12–7–0 overall record and a 5–2–0 A10 record. The Rams were seeded second–overall in the 2018 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, where they lost in the championship to UMass.

The Rams earned an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, where they were seeded 16th overall in the field. It was the Rams' first berth into the NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Rams lost to Butler in the second round. The Rams had one player selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft: Rafael Andrade Santos, by D.C. United.[2]

Player movement

Players leaving
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Pierre Gardan56GK6'1"175Sr.Lorient, FRAGraduated
Steven Dal Molin5DF5'7"150Sr.Montpellier, FRAGraduated
RJ Roberts15DF5'10"165Sr.Orlando, FloridaGraduated
Rafael Andrade Santos10MF5'7"140Sr.Rio de Janeiro, BRADeclared for 2018 MLS SuperDraft; selected 74th overall by D.C. United

Players arriving
Name Nat. Hometown Previous School Previous Club TDS Rating
Nick Barahona  USA Arlington, VA Bishop O'Connell BRYC [3]
Biska Biyombo  COD Lubumbashi, COD Trinidad State JC SIMA Aguilas NR[4]
João Costa  POR Lisbon, POR Externato Alvares Cabral Sporting Lisbon U-19 NR[5]
Roy Cox  JPN Yokosuka, JPN Landstown [6]
Martin Ngoh  USA Goldvein, VA Liberty Richmond United U-19 [7]
Thomas Perrigo  USA Virginia Beach, VA Kempsville [8]
Kyle Simon  USA Brooklyn, NY Montverde Academy Orlando City U-19 [9]
Jared Valdes  USA Dunn Loring, VA George C. Marshall BRYC [10]

Schedule
Date
Time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Preseason
08/11/2018*
7:00 PM		 Maryland L 0-1[11] 
Sports Backers Stadium
Richmond, VA
08/14/2018*
7:00 PM		 at Virginia T 0–0[12] 
Klöckner Stadium
Charlottesville, VA
08/18/2018*
7:00 PM		 at Hartford   
Al-Marzook Field
West Hartford, CT
Non-conference regular season
08/24/2018*
5:00 PM		 Georgia Southern
VCU Tournament		 L 0–2  0–1–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (728)
Richmond, VA
08/26/2018*
6:00 PM		 Radford
VCU Tournament		 W 3–0  1–1–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (630)
Richmond, VA
08/31/2018*
7:00 PM		 Temple
ODU Soccer Classic		 W 1–0  2–1–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (392)
Richmond, VA
09/02/2018*
7:00 PM		 Santa Clara
ODU Soccer Classic		 W 1–0 OT 3–1–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (353)
Richmond, VA
09/07/2018*
7:00 PM		 at No. 4 Indiana L 0–5  3–2–0
 Bill Armstrong Stadium (2,130)
Bloomington, IN
09/11/2018*
7:00 PM		 Pittsburgh L 0–1  3–3–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (369)
Richmond, VA
09/19/2018*
7:00 PM		 No. 20 Old Dominion
Rivalry		 W 4–0  4–3–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (1,098)
Richmond, VA
09/26/2018*
7:00 PM		 Akron L 3–4 OT 4–4–0
 Sports Backers Stadium (682)
Richmond, VA
Conference regular season
09/29/2018
7:00 PM		 at La Salle W 2–0  5–4–0
(1–0–0)		 McCarthy Stadium (145)
Philadelphia, PA
10/03/2018
7:00 PM		 UMass W 2–0  6–4–0
(2–0–0)		 Sports Backers Stadium (539)
Richmond, VA
10/06/2018
7:00 PM		 Duquesne W 2–0  7–4–0
(3–0–0)		 Sports Backers Stadium (545)
Richmond, VA
10/10/2018
8:00 PM		 at Saint Louis T 0–0 2OT 7–4–1
(3–0–1)		 Hermann Stadium (508)
St. Louis, MO
10/13/2018
2:00 PM		 at George Washington W 2–1  8–4–1
(4–0–1)		 Mount Vernon Athletic Field (321)
Washington DC
10/20/2018
7:00 PM		 George Mason
Rivalry		 W 2–0  9–4–1
(5–0–1)		 Sports Backers Stadium (485)
Richmond, VA
10/27/2018
7:00 PM		 at Dayton L 0–1  9–5–1
(5–1–1)		 Baujan Field (485)
Dayton, OH
10/31/2018
7:00 PM		 St. Bonaventure W 2–1  10–5–1
(6–1–1)		 Sports Backers Stadium (366)
Richmond, VA
Atlantic 10 Tournament
11/04/2018
2:00 PM		 (1) (8) UMass
Quarterfinals		 T 1–1
W 5–4 pen. 2OT		 10–5–2
 Sports Backers Stadium (366)
Richmond, VA
11/09/2018
2:00 PM		 (1) vs. (4) Rhode Island
Semifinals		 L 0–1  10–6–2
 Hermann Stadium (310)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings
Main article: List of NCAA Division I men's soccer teams ranked in the 2018 Top 25 coaches poll

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 NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV None Released
TopDrawer Soccer [14] NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV
College Soccer News NV NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RV
Soccer America NV NV NV NV NV NV NV RV RV RV RV

Regional rankings
Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Final
United Soccer Midwest[15] NV 8 8 RV 7 8 6 3 2

Statistics

Appearances
As of match played October 21, 2018
Sortable table
No. Pos. Nat. Name Regular Season A10 Tournament NCAA Tournament Total
Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts
1 GK  USA Joseph Rice 3 3
2 DF  JPN Ryo Shimazaki 14 14
3 DF  NOR Ulrik Edvardsen 14 14
4 DF  JAM Zeron Sewell 14 14
5 MF  USA Simon Fitch 14 14
6 DF  POR João Costa 4 4
7 FW  SCO Luke Murphy 9 9
8 FW  COD Biska Biyombo 5 5
10 MF  SOM Siad Haji 14 14
11 MF  ESP Fortia Munts 14 14
12 MF  USA Peter Pearson 14 14
13 MF  USA Travis Cooke 10 10
14 FW  USA Jared Greene 14 14
15 DF  USA Austin Graham 6 6
16 MF  JAM Oquin Robinson 10 10
17 MF  USA Eli Lockaby 14 14
18 DF  USA Jared Valdes 0 0 0 0
19 DF  USA Patrick Gyamfi 3 3
21 FW  USA Martin Ngoh 12 12
22 MF  USA Tony Gonnella 3 3
23 GK  CRC Mario Sequeira 14 14
24 FW  USA Andy Mensah 3 3
25 MF  USA Joseph Gonnella 14 14
26 MF  USA Kyle Simon 0 0 0 0
27 MF  USA Thomas Perrigo 0 0 0 0
29 DF  USA Nick Barahona 0 0 0 0
31 DF  JPN Roy Cox 0 0 0 0
32 DF  USA Kelley Walters 3 3
33 MF  USA Yugo Suzuki 0 0 0 0

Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches.

As of match played November 9, 2018
Rank Pos. No. Player Regular Season A10 Tournament NCAA Tournament Total
1 MF 14 Jared Greene 5 1 0 6
2 MF 10 Siad Haji 5 0 0 5
MF 12 Peter Pearson 5 0 0 5
4 FW 21 Martin Ngoh 2 0 0 2
MF 25 Joseph Gonnella 2 0 0 2
6 DF 2 Ryo Shimazaki 1 0 0 1
MF 5 Simon Fitch 1 0 0 1
MF 11 Fortia Munts 1 0 0 1
MF 13 Travis Cooke 1 0 0 1
MF 17 Eli Lockaby 1 0 0 1
Total241025

MLS Draft

The following members of the 2018 VCU Rams men's soccer team were selected in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.[16]

PlayerRoundPickPositionMLS clubRef.
Siad Haji12MFSan Jose Earthquakes[17]
gollark: It should be every device for itself, "giving" them power turns them soft.
gollark: Well, my phone runs on a pocket wind turbine, so obviously it doesn't need connecting to external power.
gollark: Of the physical switch I mean.
gollark: that does limit the usefulness somewhat.
gollark: If you turn it off at the wall can you then use the fancy smart features to power them on?

References
  1. Epps, Jr., Wayne (November 3, 2018). "VCU men's soccer continues push toward potential as Atlantic 10 tournament begins Sunday". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. Bromley, Ben (January 21, 2018). "D.C. United drafts Afonso Pinheiro and Rafael Andrade Santos". Black and Red United. SB Nation. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  3. "Nicholas Barahona". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  4. "Biska Biyombo". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  5. "Joao Costa". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  6. "Roy Cox". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. "Martin Ngoh". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  8. "Thomas Perrigo". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  9. "Kyle Simon". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  10. "Jared Valdes". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  11. "Maryland Soccer on Twitter: "Exhibition Final: Maryland 1, VCU 0 @chasegasper3 slotted home a PK in the 44th minute 👍 Back tomorrow against NJIT at Ludwig. 11 am kickoff and the match is open to the public!"". Maryland Men's Soccer. Twitter. August 11, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  12. "That's a wrap from Klöckner, Hoos play to a 0-0 draw in first exhibition". UVA Men's Soccer. Twitter. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  13. "NCAA DI Men's National Rankings". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  14. "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  15. "NCAA DI Men's National Rankings". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  16. "2019 MLS SuperDraft Tracker". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  17. Davis, Noah. "How Siad Haji immigrated from Kenya, fell through U.S. Soccer's cracks and still rose to No. 2 in MLS SuperDraft". ESPN. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
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