VCU Rams men's soccer

The VCU Rams men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Virginia Commonwealth University, an NCAA Division I member school located in the state's capital of Richmond. The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

For the women's team, see VCU Rams women's soccer.

VCU Rams men's soccer
2019 VCU Rams men's soccer team
Founded1978
UniversityVirginia Commonwealth University
Head coachDave Giffard (4th season)
ConferenceA-10
LocationRichmond, VA
StadiumSports Backers Stadium
(Capacity: 3,250)
NicknameRams
ColorsBlack and Gold[1]
         
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2004
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2003, 2004
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1997, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2017
NCAA Tournament appearances
1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2017
Conference Tournament championships
1997, 2002, 2003
Conference Regular Season championships
1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2018

Since their foundation, the team has won three conference championships, all of which came in the Colonial Athletic Association, and four regular season titles. The Rams have qualified for seven NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championships, most recently coming in 2012. Most of the team's success has come within the last 15 seasons, as they first reached the NCAA Tournament in 1997. The program's best performance in the tournament came in 2004, when the Rams reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, knocking off the top seed, Wake Forest, in the process.

The Rams are presently coached by David Giffard, who was a former assistant coach under Caleb Porter for the Akron Zips.

History

Beginning in 1978, Virginia Commonwealth University fielded an NCAA Division I men's varsity soccer program that competed independently,[2] joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1979.[3] Ben Satterfield was the team's initial head coach and was at the helm until the end of the 1982 season. Ben Satterfield's teams got progressively better, and in 1981, was ranked #1 in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and was in the NCAA Division I Top 25 in the nation. VCU had a bye going into the 1981 Sun Belt Tournament with a 12–5–3 record, and lost a heart-breaker to University of South Alabama 2–1, ending their season. Roosevelt Lundy took over in 1983, and struggled to do well in the conference.

Following Steuckenschneider's departure in 1994, Tim Sullivan took over the head coaching job. It was also the same year VCU left the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to join the Colonial Athletic Association. Under Sullivan's tenure, the team enjoyed their most success both in conference play and in NCAA play, earning their first ever berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.

Initially, the young team had struggles in the Colonial Athletic Association, finishing towards the bottom of the conference standings in its first two years. In 1997, the team vastly improved, earning a third-place regular season record and earning the CAA championship that year. In the 1997 Championship, the Rams defeated American University 9–8 in a penalty kick shootout after drawing 2–2 in regulation time.[3]

Since then the team won the CAA championship in 2002 and 2003, as well as winning the regular-season title those same years as well as winning the honor in 2004.[3]

The team's most successful run in the College Cup, the men's NCAA Division I Soccer Tournament, came in 2004, where the Rams entered the tournament as ranked 16th in the nation, earning a bye to the second round proper. In the second round, the Rams defeated George Washington, before upsetting the number-one seeded, Wake Forest Demon Deacons in penalty kicks. Reaching the regional finals, or quarterfinals in the entire tournament, VCU lost to eventual national finalists, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

Following the end of the 2009 season, VCU hit a team nadir, falling to last place in the CAA, their worst in the history. Following the conclusion of the season, 15-year head coach, Tim O'Sullivan was fired to be replaced by David Giffard, thus making Giffard the sixth head coach in VCU men's soccer history.[4] Giffard's facelifting of the team was credited in their finishing as regular season runners-up in 2010.[5]

The Giffard-led program began play in the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, where the Rams finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 table, and reached the final of the 2012 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, only to lose to Saint Louis in the final. The Rams secured an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the first time since 2004 the Rams qualified. In the tournament, VCU was seeded fourteenth in the tournament. They lost to Syracuse Orange in the second round proper of the tournament, 3–2 after extra time.

Colors and badge

The team uses the school colors of black and gold.

Stadium
Main article: Sports Backers Stadium

Along with the women's soccer and the track & field teams, the Virginia Commonwealth men's soccer team plays at the 3,250-seat Sports Backers Stadium. Located three miles north of the Monroe Park Campus, the stadium is adjacent to The Diamond ballpark, where the baseball team plays. Since its completion in 1999, the stadium has served as the primary venue for the team.

Fans

Like all VCU Rams sports teams, the men's soccer team's main fan group is the Rowdy Rams. The Rowdy Rams are situated in the bleachers in front of the nets, and switch sides each half to invoke intimidation on the opposing sides goalkeeper. They sit with the university's marching band. The Rowdy Rams at games refer to themselves as Rowdy FC.

Rivalries

Over the years, the Rams have developed rivalries with intrastate colleges, both in the Colonial Athletic Association and against non-conference opponents. The team's main rivals, at least before the move to the A10, were considered to be George Mason[6][7] and Old Dominion,[8] who both played with the Rams in the CAA. Due to the recent success of the teams' programs, some considered William & Mary and James Madison to be tertiary conference rivals of the Rams before their departure for the A10.

In the Rams' new conference home of the A10, their main rival will be the Richmond Spiders, primarily due to the geographical proximity of the two universities.[9]

Outside the CAA and A10, some cite Virginia Tech and University of Virginia as intra-conference, state rivals due to record attendances. Of the three largest attendance crowds in VCU soccer history, two came from home matches against VT and UVA.

Roster
As of July 29, 2019[10]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK  USA John Ermini
1 GK  USA Alex Fetterly
2 DF  JPN Ryo Shimazaki
3 DF  NOR Ulrik Edvardsen
4 DF  JAM Zeron Sewell
5 MF  USA Simon Fitch
7 MF  USA Myles Brown
8 FW  COD Biska Biyombo
10 MF  SEN Fiorre Mane
11 MF  ESP Fortia Munts
13 FW  USA Maverick McGann
14 FW  USA Jared Greene
15 DF  USA Toranosuke Abe
16 MF  JAM Oquin Robinson
17 DF  USA Austin Graham
18 DF  USA Jared Valdes
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF  USA Patrick Gyamfi
20 MF  HKG Kyle Simon
21 FW  NGA Martin Ngoh
22 MF  USA Anthony Gonnella
23 GK  CRC Mario Sequeira
24 FW  USA Andy Mensah
25 DF  USA Ethan Manheim
26 MF  USA Jacob Menke
28 DF  USA Nick Barahona
29 FW  USA Wladimir Gasant
30 MF  BDI Ndayizeye Bonere
31 DF  USA Roy Cox
32 DF  USA Kelley Walters
33 MF  JPN Yugo Suzuki
34 MF  USA Alex Wichmann
35 MF  BRA Celio Pompeu

Team management
Coaching Staff
Position Staff
Head Coach Dave Giffard
Asst. Head Coach Brett Teach
Asst. Coach Josh Tudela
Volunteer Assistant Coach Travis Morris

Last updated: September 14, 2011
Source: VCU Rams Athletics Website

Head coaching history
Dates Name Notes
1978–1982 Ben Satterfield
1983–1989 Roosevelt Lundy
Gianni Baldini		 Co-Head coach 1983-1987
1989–1994 Lincoln Phillips
1994 Jon Steuckenschneider
1995–2009 Tim O'Sullivan Led team to first CAA championship
first NCAA tournament appearance
led team to quarterfinals in 2004
2010–present David Giffard

Seasons

This is a list of the most recent seasons at VCU.

List of seasons
Main article: List of VCU Rams men's soccer seasons
Champions Runners-up Third place Wooden Spoon
Season Conference Regular Season Overall Conference
Tournament		 NCAA
Tournament		 Additional Honors
Division GP W L T GF GA Pts. Pos. GP W L T GF GA Pts.
2012 A-10 9 6 1 2 23 11 20 4th 20 12 3 5 42 25 41 Runners-up R2
2013 A-10 8 5 2 1 18 7 16 3rd 21 11 8 2 30 20 35 SF R1
2014 A-10 8 4 1 3 8 2 15 3rd 20 7 8 5 19 11 26 QF
2015 A-10 8 3 2 3 7 6 12 8th 21 7 10 4 24 27 25 Runners-up
2016 A-10 8 4 3 1 12 8 13 5th 21 8 9 4 27 29 28 Runners-up

Records and statistics
See also: VCU Rams men's soccer results by opponent

Attendance records
  1. 2,927 v. Virginia Tech (Oct 26, 2003)
  2. 2,242 v. Virginia (Sept 25, 2012)
  3. 1,987 v. William & Mary (Oct 12, 2011)

Career records
Points[11]
Pos. Player Career Pts.
1Matthew Delicâte2000–03103
2Ricardo Capilla1997–9994
3Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi1992–9580
4Orlin Weise1985–8872
5Tedmore Henry1980–8266
Goals[11]
Pos. Player Career G
1Matthew Delicâte2000–0345
2Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi1992–9534
3Ricardo Capilla1997–9930
4Kevin Jeffrey1998–9929
Orlin Weise1985–8829
Game-Winning Goals[11]
Pos. Player Career GWG
1Matthew Delicâte2000–0317
2Ricardo Capilla1997–998
3McColm Cephas1998–997
Kevin Jeffrey1998–99
5Mike Aust2002–055
Gonzalo Segares2001–04

NCAA Tournament results
Season Competition Round Seed Opponent Result Notes
1997 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A Georgetown 1–2
1998 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A South Carolina 1–2
1999 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A #5 Wake Forest 1–2
2002 NCAA Tournament R2 #8 Furman 0–0 Furman wins in pen.
2003 NCAA Tournament R2 #9 Virginia Tech 5–2
R3 #9 #5 Indiana 0–5
2004 NCAA Tournament R2 #16 George Washington 2–0
R3 #16 #1 Wake Forest 2–2 VCU wins in pen.
QF #16 #9 UC Santa Barbara 1–4
2012 NCAA Tournament R2 #14 Syracuse 2–3 Syracuse wins in 2OT
2013 NCAA Tournament R1 N/A Navy 0–3
2017 NCAA Tournament R2 #16 Butler 2–3

Honors

Alumni

References
  1. "Virginia Commonwealth University Primary Palette". Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  2. Epps, Jr., Wayne (October 4, 2018). "VCU men's soccer set to celebrate 40th anniversary this weekend". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. "2009 MEN'S SOCCER IN REVIEW" (PDF). NMAthletics.com. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. "VCU fires O'Sullivan as soccer coach". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 17, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  5. Stern, Adam (April 26, 2010). "New coach, new swagger for men's soccer". The Commonwealth Times. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  6. Stevens, Patrick (April 26, 2011). "VCU among George Mason's permanent home-and-home foes". The Washington Times. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  7. Sullivan, Joe (February 4, 2011). "Sully's Court: My future viewing habits". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  8. "Local players sometimes leave home to spice VCU-ODU rivalry". Richmond Times-Dispatch. TimesDispatch.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  9. Yanda, Steve (March 22, 2011). "NCAA tournament gives VCU and Richmond something in common". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  10. "2019 VCU Men's Soccer Roster". vcuathletics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  11. "VCU Men's Soccer Season Records". VCUAthletics.com. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
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