CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A new era of Virginia Commonwealth University Men's Soccer began Friday night as first-year Head Coach Dave Giffard led his new-look Rams against defending national champion University of Virginia.

With 18 newcomers and a squad that boasts 23 players with at least two years of eligibility remaining, including 18 freshmen and sophomores, it will clearly take time for the Rams to become cohesive unit. But in its first game against live competition, and after just three days of training with the entire squad, the back line held a potent Virginia offense to just a single goal as VCU dropped its exhibition opener 1-0 to the Cavaliers at Klockner Stadium.

"It was exciting to get out there and get running against a team like Virginia, who are the defending national champions," Giffard said. "We were anxious to test ourselves against another team. In order to get the exposure and to work on the areas that we need to improve, you have to play the best. Our hope [by playing Virginia and Akron in the preseason] is to get a realistic picture of where we are in this process. It will give us a good barometer of what we have to do over the next several months to get us where we want to be."

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