RAMS BATTLE MARYLAND TO SCORLESS DRAW IN EXHIBITION OPENER
Dittrich, Dykstra key stifling defensive effort

RICHMOND, Va. – With under a week of practice under their belt, the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team took to the pitch for the first time in 2008 as the Rams battled the eighth-ranked Terrapins of the University of Maryland to a scoreless draw on Saturday evening at VCU’s SportsBackers Stadium.

The two teams fought through two 35-minute periods and capped it off with a 20-minute closing period.

VCU dominated the pace through the first period as seniors Owusu Sekyere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana), David Rosenbaum (Washington, D.C.) and Jake Van Yahres (Charlottesville, Va.) maneuvered around the Terrapin defense for several close opportunities.

Maryland would fight back over the final 55 minutes as senior goaltender Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) came up with several big plays to keep the game scoreless and senior Dirk Dittrich (Stuttgart, Germany) led a stifling back line that turned away the potent Terrapin offense.

The Rams will be back in action next Friday as they travel to the western part of the state to take on the 10th-ranked Hokies of Virginia Tech in a 7 p.m. exhibition contest.