Men's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

Men's Soccer Holds On for 1-0 Victory over Howard

LEXINGTON, Va - After a stunning 3-2 upset over Campbell University on Wednesday night, the Keydets men's soccer team kept the momentum going as they defeated the Howard Bison (0-6-0) on Saturday 1-0 at Patchin Field. The Keydets (4-3-0) won their second straight game and played just well enough for the victory.

"I am happy and relieved at the same time to get the win today," said VMI Head Coach Stephen Ross. "We didn't play our best game today, but we also stepped up the defense and didn't give them too many good opportunities to score."

Sophomore midfielder Wythe Horbal scored for the second straight game for the Keydets just eight-minutes into the game, his third of the season, and what proved to be the game-winner. The shot came off a nice feed from Michael Lloyd, giving him an assist and his fifth point of the season.

"Wythe played another good game for us and came up big with the goal early," said Ross.

And while the Bison fired off ten first half shots to the Keydets seven, only one of them was on goal. The Keydets came out aggressively and rejuvenated in the second half, and were able to hold the free-shooting Bison to just four shots.

Junior goalkeeper Thomas Upton recorded his second shutout of the year and sixth of his career, as he was able to fend off a few late scoring opportunities from the Bison.

The win was the second straight for the Keydets, as they responded after three straight tough losses.

"We have had two good wins as we head into our five-game road trip," said Ross. "Our guys are playing hungry, and playing better as a team."

"We had a goal to consistently get better as a team each game we played," added Ross. "I feel that after a tough outing in the Jacksonville Tournament (a few weeks ago), our men have responded and played hard every minute. We now have to get ready for a tough Richmond team on Tuesday."

The Keydets travel to Richmond to begin a five-game road-trip as they square off against the Richmond Spiders (3-3-0) on Tuesday, September 27 under the lights at 7 P.M. at UR Stadium. The game will be the the final non-conference matchup for the Keydets before they open Big South Conference play at Radford next Saturday.

Print Friendly Version