LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Men's Soccer will kick off its first of three road matches on Tuesday at St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Keydets (2-5-3) look to build off their thrilling victory last week into this three-game road swing, but standing in the way is a challenging Tommies (4-2-3) squad, who has yet to fall at home this season.
Keys to the Keydets
VMI Outplays Radford. VMI played with intensity in all 90 minutes of the 1-0 victory over Radford.
Goal Scorer. Jesse Lee punched in the Keydets' goal midway through the first frame, his first of the season.
In Murphy, We Trust. Zack Murphy recorded his first solo clean sheet of the season after earning five saves. Murphy has played a part in two shutouts, the first being a combined shutout against Warren Wilson.
Keeping the Trend. The Keydets posted a result against the same D-I opponent (Radford) in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14. With the win against Radford, it's the first time the Keydets have earned a result against the same D-I team in three-straight seasons since 2012-14.
Winner, Winner. Head Coach
Nick Regan recorded his 14th win at the helm, moving into sole possession of third all-time.
In the Corner. VMI ranks first in the conference and 53rd nationally with 51 corner kicks.
Racking Minutes. Zack Murphy has played 765 goalie minutes this year, bringing his career total to 3,822, which ranks fifth all-time at VMI and just 70 minutes shy of moving into third.
Household Name. Making his mark in his first collegiate season is
Thimson Duolo, who leads the Keydets with three goals, while boasting two assists. Duolo ranks second in the SoCon with 22 shots, third with 11 shots on goal, and sixth with three goals. He also ranks 53rd with a 50% shot accuracy among D-I players.
Young Stat Leaders. All three goal leaders are freshmen:
Rowen Choi,
Jack Yough, and
Thimson Duolo. Joining the young squad with the second-most assists on the team is
Sam Dowdy. Another notable producer is
Jack Yough, who has played over 800 minutes on the back line.
Life Saver. Zack Murphy ranks 28th among DI goalies with 36 saves and 42nd with four saves per game. His saves per game mark is the top of the league, with his total saves mark second-best.
Scouting the Tommies
- St. Thomas enters the matchup 4-2-3 with a 0-1-0 Summit League record.
- The Tommies earned wins over Chicago State, Utah Tech, Northern Illinois, and St. Cloud State, with draws against Presbyterian, DePaul, and Milwaukee.
- St. Thomas is 2-0-2 when playing at home.
- In their four wins, the Tommies have outscored their opponents, 13-2, with two shutouts.
- St. Thomas ranks in the top 50 nationally with a 44.4% shutout rate.
- Mathis Guffroy and Yanis Lakhlifi boast three goals apiece, with Guffroy leading the charge with three assists.
- Guffroy stands 20th nationally with two game-winning goals.
- Moritz Krenc has been key between the posts, corralling 28 saves and a 1.11 goals against average, while ranking in the top 25 with 810 goalie minutes played and 21st with four shutouts.
- Head Coach Jon Lowery is in his 14th season with the Tommies, the longest tenured coach in program history, all while leading his team to a historic jump from D-III to D-I in 2021.
Series History
- This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
