LEXINGTON, Va.- The VMI men's soccer team earned its first victory of the 2010 season Wednesday afternoon at Patchin Field in a historic way, as the Keydets, led by senior keeper Brian Sowell, shutout the Highlanders 3-0. Sowell made six saves en route to breaking the school's career all-time shutout record, as he now has nine in his prolific career, and now holds every meaningful VMI career goalkeeper statistic record. The win also marked the first in the head coaching career of VMI head man Richie Rose.
Radford (6-5-2, 4-2 BSC) had an early opportunity, as the dangerous Iyiola Awosika broke free of a VMI defender 6:19 minutes into the first half, firing a shot from 25-yards out that was turned away by Sowell, diving to his right. VMI utilized several different tactics to help neutralize one of the Big South's top offensive weapons, as he was held to three shots on the afternoon.
The Keydets (1-9-1, 1-4 BSC) scored the first goal of the match, in the 25th minute, as senior striker Amir Shihata took a pass from sophomore Matt Seinfeld, who collected a loose ball at the top of the 18, and sent a through ball inside the six . Shihata then scored a goal in his second-straight match, finding the lower left portion of the net to give the Keydets the 1-0 lead.
The Keydets had another opportunity with under four minutes remaining in the opening half, as Ayao Sossou found Sonny Landry down the left flank. Landry then beat a defender, and fired a shot that beat Radford keeper Joey Dennis to his lower right, but an alert Brian Gwanzura cleared the ball off the goal-line to keep the score at 1-0 VMI heading into the half.
Heading into the half, Radford held an 8-7 shot advantage, and a 6-2 corner advantage.
Early in the second frame, VMI nearly added another goal to the lead. Seinfeld collected a loose ball in the midfield, beat a pair of Highlander defenders, and ripped a shot from 30 yards out that was bobbled by Dennis. An alert Shihata took a rebound shot that looked promising, but was stopped by a sprawling Dennis.
VMI would add to their lead in the 64th minute, as Sowell took a free-kick from deep in VMI territory. The kick was trapped by Shihata, who dished the ball to Brian Harding 35-yards out in the center midfield. Harding then found a streaking Seinfeld, who fired a fantastic shot that skipped past Dennis into the lower portion of the goal for his first goal of the season, giving the Keydets the 2-0 advantage with 26 minutes of action remaining.
The Keydets would add an insurance goal in the 87th minute as Harding took a pass from Landry as he darted down the left flank. He then split a pair of Highlander defenders, and slipped a shot past Dennis to cap off his three-point day and seal the Keydet victory, 3-0.
Sowell was spectacular in net, making several game-changing saves in the second half. The shutout breaks the previous career record of eight that was held by Thomas Upton '06 and Gary Morgan '80. In all, he made six saves on the day in his first victorious decision of the year.
Dennis made five saves for Radford in the loss.
Despite being shutout, the Highlanders managed 23 shots to VMI's 14, and had a 14-6 corner disparity.
VMI will next be in action on Sat., Oct. 23 as the Keydets will travel to Asheville, N.C. to take on the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. Live stats, courtesy of UNC Asheville, will be available via VMIKeydets.com. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. kick. Radford, after a week off, will take on local-rival Virginia Tech on Oct. 27 in Blacksburg.
