RAMS FALL TO NO. 24 NORTH CAROLINA, 1-0, IN OVERTIME THRILLER
Dykstra, Sekyere earn All-Tournament Team honors
Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It seemed as though for the second straight season the Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer team would post a scoreless draw against perennial national power, North Carolina.

However, that was not the case this season as Michael Callahan found the back of the net in the 95th minute of action for the 24th-ranked Tar Heels to defeat the Black and Gold, 1-0 in the finale of the Carolina Nike Classic.

The defenses of both squads were the story in the contest as neither team had many scoring opportunities in regulation as North Carolina barely edged out the Rams, 8-6, in shots, but VCU held a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal as they kept Tar Heel goaltender Jacob Wescoe busy throughout the evening.

North Carolina would change that as they came out aggressive on the offensive side in the extra time. Cameron Brown started the charge as he sent a beautiful feed to Callahan on the right side of the box and he deposited it past a diving Andrew Dykstra (Woodbridge, Va.) for the game winner for the nationally-ranked Tar Heels.

For the contest, North Carolina held the advantage in shots with 10-6 with juniors Otavio De Luca (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Owusu Sekyere (Suame-Kumasi, Ghana) each firing off two shots on goal apiece on the evening.

Both the Tar Heels and Wake Forest finished with a perfect 2-0 record, while Florida International and VCU concluded the weekend at 0-2, with the Rams two losses both coming by one goal.

For his outstanding effort in goal at the tournament, Dykstra was named to the All-Tournament team along with Sekyere, who reeked havoc on his two opponents all weekend long.

The Black and Gold is back in action next weekend as they host the Nike/Alltel Classic at VCU’s Sports Backers Stadium on Friday and Sunday. VCU will take on Bryant College at 8 p.m. on Friday evening and Seton Hall at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon.