# 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team

The 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 38th season of the university fielding a program. The Rams were led by eighth-year head coach, Dave Giffard.
For the third straight season, the Rams reached the championship match of the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament, but lost for the third straight time. The Rams fell 1-3 to UMass. Despite the loss the Rams earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. It was the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in four years. VCU were seeded 16th, giving the program their first seeding since 2012. The Rams lost in their opening NCAA Tournament match to Butler, 2-3.

## Background
### Previous season

The Rams team finished the 2016 season 8–9–4, 4–3–1 in A10 play to earn a berth into the 2016 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament. They defeated UMass and Dayton to advance to the A10 Championship, where they lost to Fordham. The Rams did not earn an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

## Review
### Offseason

During the 2016-17 offseason, the Rams lost nine seniors to graduation. The most notable departure was four-year starter, Dakota Barnathan, who declared for the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Barnathan was selected in the third round, with the 59th pick by FC Dallas. Barnathan was offered a trial with FC Dallas, and appeared in a couple preseason exhibitions with the club, but ultimately was not offered a contract. After leaving Dallas' camp, Barnathan signed on with second division, United Soccer League outfit, Swope Park Rangers, the reserve team of MLS-outfit, Sporting Kansas City. No other graduates signed professional contracts following their graduation.
In February 2017, the spring 2017 season schedule was announced, where VCU participated in several exhibition matches between March and May.
On November 13, 2017, VCU was announced as the 16th-overall seed in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, making it the 10th time in program history the Rams qualified for the tournament.

## Transfers
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Dakota Barnathan | 8 | MF | 6'2" | 165 | Senior (Redshirt) | Massapequa, NY | Graduated; entered the 2017 MLS SuperDraft |
| Kai Marshall | 11 | MF | 6'2" | 185 | Senior (Redshirt) | Charlottesville, VA | Graduated |
| Rahim Costa-Dorsey | 77 | FW | 6'2" | 180 | Senior | Alexandria, VA | Graduated |
| Brandon Eaton | 6 | MF | 5'8" | 165 | Senior | Chesapeake, VA | Graduated |
| Juan Fajardo Ortiz | 5 | DF | 5'10" | 160 | Senior | Coyoles Central, HON | Graduated |
| Jorge Herranz | 20 | FW | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Madrid, ESP | Graduated |
| Simond Kargbo | 14 | FW | 5'5" | 130 | Senior | Mount Vernon, VA | Graduated |
| Jason McGlothern | 31 | MF | 6'0" | 155 | Senior | Seattle, WA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Siad Haji | 8 | FW | 5'8" | 150 | Sophomore | Manchester, New Hampshire | Transferred from New England College. |
| Peter Pearson | 12 | MF | 5'7" | 155 | RS Junior | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Transferred from Virginia. |

### Recruits

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | High School | Club | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Brandon Bonilla MF | CRC | San Jose, CRC | — | Belén | 6'1" | 165 | April 14, 2017 |
| Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN: ||||||||
| Ulrik Edvardsen DF | NOR | Bergen, NOR | — | Brann | 6'3" | 175 | April 14, 2017 |
| Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN: ||||||||
| Bruk Fekade MF | ETH | Loudoun, VA | — | Loudoun Soccer Club | 5'11" | 150 | April 14, 2017 |
| Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN: ||||||||
| Jared Greene FW | USA | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Kellam High School | Beach FC | 6'2" | 155 | April 14, 2017 |
| Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN: ||||||||
| Jared Mazzola GK | USA | Katonah, New York | Somers High School | FC Westchester | 6'1" | 175 | April 14, 2017 |
| Recruit star rankings: TDS: CSN: ESPN: ||||||||

## Roster

As of November 15, 2017.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 00 | GK | CRC | Mario Sequeira |
| 0 | GK | USA | Jared Mazzola |
| 1 | GK | USA | Joseph Rice |
| 2 | DF | JPN | Ryo Shimazaki |
| 3 | DF | NOR | Ulrik Edvarsen |
| 4 | DF | JAM | Zeron Sewell |
| 5 | DF | FRA | Steven Dal Molin |
| 6 | MF | USA | Lyndsey Moreland |
| 7 | MF | USA | Luc Fatton |
| 8 | FW | SOM | Siad Haji |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Rafael Andrade Santos |
| 11 | MF | ESP | Fortia Munts |
| 12 | MF | USA | Peter Pearson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | MF | USA | Travis Cooke |
| 14 | FW | USA | Jared Greene |
| 15 | DF | USA | R. J. Roberts |
| 16 | MF | JAM | Oquin Robinson |
| 17 | MF | USA | Eli Lockaby |
| 21 | MF | USA | Greg Boehme |
| 22 | MF | USA | Anthony Gonnella |
| 23 | MF | ITA | Francesco Amorosino |
| 24 | DF | USA | Austin Graham |
| 25 | MF | USA | Joseph Gonnella |
| 28 | DF | ETH | Bruk Fekade |
| 32 | DF | USA | Kelly Walters |
| 56 | GK | FRA | Pierre Gardan |
| 77 | FW | GHA | Andy Mensah |
Captains in bold

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Spring season ||||||
| 03/04/2017 7:00 am | | Montreal Rush | T 1–1 | | Sports Backers Stadium Richmond, VA |
| 03/19/2017 1:00 pm | | at Richmond Kickers (USL) | W 2–1 | | City Stadium Richmond, VA |
| 03/25/2017 10:00 am | | vs. High Point | W 5–0 | | Thompson Field Blacksburg, VA |
| 03/25/2017* 1:00 pm | | at Virginia Tech | T 1–1 | | Thompson Field Blacksburg, VA |
| 04/01/2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. West Virginia Jefferson Cup | T 2–2 | | Strikers Soccer Complex Glen Allen, VA |
| 04/08/2017* 4:00 pm | | at Radford | W 1–0 | | Cupp Stadium Radford, VA |
| 04/22/2017* 1:00 pm | | Elon | W 3–0 | | Sports Backers Stadium Richmond, VA |
| 04/22/2017* 7:00 pm | | Longwood | W 3–2 | | Sports Backers Stadium Richmond, VA |
| Exhibitions ||||||
| 08/19/2017* 7:00 pm | | at Pittsburgh | W 1–0 | | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| Regular season ||||||
| 08/25/2017* 7:00 pm | | Oakland | L 2–3 | 0–1–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (566) Richmond, VA |
| 08/27/2017* 7:00 pm | | Appalachian State | L 2–3 | 0–2–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (415) Richmond, VA |
| 09/01/2017* 7:00 pm | | Iona | Cancelled | 0–2–0 | Sports Backers Stadium Richmond, VA |
| 09/03/2017* 7:00 pm | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 3–2 | 1–2–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (352) Richmond, VA |
| 09/10/2017* 7:00 pm | | Florida Gulf Coast | Cancelled | 1–2–0 | FGCU Soccer Complex Fort Myers, FL |
| 09/19/2017* 7:00 pm | | at Old Dominion Rivalry | L 0–1 | 1–3–0 | ODU Soccer Complex Norfolk, VA |
| 09/24/2017* 7:00 pm | | at Coastal Carolina | W 1–0 | 2–3–0 | CCU Soccer Field (130) Conway, SC |
| 09/30/2017* 7:00 pm | | at No. 15 UNC Wilmington | W 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 3–3–0 | Legion Field (130) Wilmington, NC |
| 10/04/2017 7:00 pm | | Davidson | W 4–1 | 4–3–0 (1–0–0) | Sports Backers Stadium (479) Richmond, VA |
| 10/07/2017 7:00 pm | | at Fordham | W 1–0 | 5–3–0 (2–0–0) | Coffey Field (211) The Bronx, NY |
| 10/11/2017 8:00 pm | | at Saint Louis | W 4–0 | 6–3–0 (3–0–0) | Hermann Stadium (606) St. Louis, MO |
| 10/14/2017 7:00 pm | | George Washington | L 1–2 | 6–4–0 (3–1–0) | Sports Backers Stadium (516) Richmond, VA |
| 10/18/2017 7:00 pm | | at George Mason Rivalry | W 4–0 | 7–4–0 (4–1–0) | George Mason Stadium (385) Fairfax, VA |
| 10/21/2017 7:00 pm | | at Saint Joseph's | W 3–0 | 8–4–0 (5–1–0) | McCarthy Stadium (1,280) Philadelphia, PA |
| 10/24/2017* 7:00 pm | | at No. 9 Maryland | W 3–0 | 9–4–0 | Ludwig Field (820) College Park, MD |
| 10/28/2017 7:00 pm | | Rhode Island | W 2–1 | 10–4–0 (6–1–0) | Sports Backers Stadium (726) Richmond, VA |
| 11/02/2017 7:00 pm | No. 22 | at St. Bonaventure | L 1–2 | 10–5–0 (6–2–0) | Marra Athletics Complex (210) Olean, NY |
| Atlantic 10 Tournament ||||||
| 11/05/2017 7:00 pm | (2) No. 22 | at (7) St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals | W 4–1 | 11–5–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (274) Richmond, VA |
| 11/10/2017 7:30 pm | (2) No. 24 | vs. (6) Rhode Island Semifinals | W 2–0 | 12–5–0 | Baujan Field (164) Dayton, OH |
| 11/12/2017 12:00 pm | (2) No. 24 | vs. (1) No. 25 UMass Championship | L 1–3 | 12–6–0 | Baujan Field (164) Dayton, OH |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 11/19/2017 5:00 pm | (16) No. 22 | No. 24 Butler Second Round | L 2–3 | 12–7–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (679) Richmond, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings
### National rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 24 | 22 | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released | RV |
| TopDrawerSoccer.com | | | | RV | 17 | 16 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| CollegeSoccerNews.com | | | RV | RV | 24 | 26 | 29 | None Released | None Released | None Released | RV |

### Regional rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
| USC Midwest Region | | | | | | | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 |

## Awards

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Rafael Santos | Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year | November 13, 2017 |
| Francesco Amorosino | Atlantic 10 All-Second Team | November 13, 2017 |
| Luc Fatton | Atlantic 10 All-Second Team | November 13, 2017 |
| Ulrik Edvarsen | Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team | November 13, 2017 |
| Mario Sequeira | Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team | November 13, 2017 |
| Rafael Santos | CSN Second-Team All-American | January 4, 2018 |
| Rafael Santos | United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-American | January 5, 2018 |

## Season statistics
### Individual

Individual Player Statistics (As of January 26, 2017) :
| Player | App | Goals | Asst | Points | Shots | Shot% | SOG | SOG% | GW | Pk-Att | GA | Saves | SO |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| Walters, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| Agiasiotis, Petros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Amorosino, Francesco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boehme, Greg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooke, Travis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gonnella, Joe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gonnella, Tony | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lockaby, Eli | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Moreland, Lyndsey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Munts, Fortia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Santos, Rafael | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vargas, Gerald | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| Dal Molin, Steven | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ekoue, Cedric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graham, Austin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roberts, R. J. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shimazaki, Ryo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| Gardan, Pierre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rice, Joseph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Total | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Opponents | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## MLS Draft

The following members of the 2017 VCU Rams men's soccer team were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | MLS club | Ref. |
| Rafael Andrade Santos | 4 | 74 | MF | D.C. United | |