OPEN PRACTICE MEDIA ROUNDUP

Judging from that title, you might think that I had rounded up the media into a corral in the bowels of the Siegel Center. Not true*. I was speaking metaphorically, of course. Here’s a collection of clips from Sunday’s VCU men’s basketball open practice.

The Commonwealth Times tells us that Shaka Smart used Sunday’s “practice” to loosen up his freshmen.

VCURamNation.com, as is their custom, has highlights, music and interviews. You can always rock out to a Ram Nation video.

Rams Review snagged Ed Nixon for a quick interview. Spoiler alert: Ed discusses “swag”.

Ed Nixon talks about former team from Mesh Media on Vimeo.

* – If it were true, do you really think I’d tell you on the internet? We’ll see who shows up for Wednesday’s exhibition.

WHERE WE AT?

The Colonial Athletic Association men’s soccer tournament technically doesn’t begin until Nov. 10, but don’t tell that to VCU. On Wednesday, the Rams (10-8, 5-4 CAA) will host Georgia State (7 p.m., SportsBackers Stadium) in what is essentially a playoff game. Both squads have 15 points with two league matches remaining. The winner will own a head-to-head tiebreaker. If they tie (and remain tied at season’s end), the second tiebreaker is records against the rest of the league, starting from the top. James Madison has clinched the top spot, which is good for the Rams. VCU defeated JMU 2-1 earlier this year, while GSU lost 1-0.

Actually, if VCU wins both of its remaining games, it could conceivably climb as high as the No. 3 seed. That’s how packed the league is 3-7 right now.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Defeated JMU 2-0 Friday. The Rams’ regular season is complete. VCU has clinched the No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament, which will be hosted by William & Mary Nov. 3, 4 and 6. The Rams will meet the winner of No. 3 George Mason and No. 6 Northeastern on Friday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. The Black and Gold tied George Mason and lost to Northeastern 2-1 earlier this season, although that loss to the Huskies came before the Rams’ current nine-match unbeaten streak (7-0-2).

FIELD HOCKEY
VCU (5-13, 2-6 CAA) lost to Delaware 4-1 on Sunday. The Rams’ season is complete.

VOLLEYBALL
The Rams (11-15, 5-6 CAA) did themselves a huge service by beating Hofstra 3-0 Friday in Hempstead, N.Y. At present, VCU holds a half game lead over the Pride with three conference matches remaining. However, since the teams do not meet again this season, the Rams own a de facto 1 1/2 game lead because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Rams host UNC Wilmington and Georgia State this weekend at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

AND ANOTHER THING…

Co-Head Coaches Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak and Tim Sahaydak have led the Rams back to the CAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

I didn’t want to bog down yesterday’s women’s soccer story with a separate tangent on defense and depth, but I did want to comment on their importance this season.

The Rams were still very good defensively when they opened the season 2-7-1, so while that side of the field isn’t necessarily the source of VCU’s midseason turnaround, it’s certainly a big part of its overall success. In addition, depth is a huge element of that.

VCU has allowed just 14 goals in 18 matches this season, including seven shutouts. The Rams’ 0.78 goals allowed per game average is second only to William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Black and Gold’s stinginess is due in large part to a sound tactical philosophy of high-pressure, 11-player defense, but Co-Head Coaches Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak and Tim Sahaydak, make it clear that X’s and O’s aren’t enough.

“We were both defenders and so we take pride in our defense,” Roberts Sahaydak said of her and her husband, Tim. “You don’t’ need talent to be a good defender. Defense is a decision.”

What the Rams weren’t doing particularly well early in the season was scoring goals themselves. In their first 10 matches, VCU scored nine goals. In the last eight, in which VCU is 6-0-2, the Rams have outscored the opposition, 12-2.

But the Rams’ productivity on defense, and offense, for that matter, also has a lot to do with their newfound depth. The size and health of the VCU roster was a problem area the last two seasons. There were a number of matches where the Rams only had two or three available reserves, but this season VCU is carrying 29 players on its roster.

“In a league where teams play Friday/Sunday, it’s very difficult to do that without depth,” Tim says. “Depth also allows us to have more productive training sessions. We can play 11 versus 11 in practice now. We haven’t been able to do that in the past.”

MORE CLUB SEAT/SUITE PICS

Lots of progress in the last two weeks, so much so that the basketball staffs will be moving back into the Siegel Center shortly.

You'll notice the entrance to one of the suites on the left. Ahead, through the glass doors, is what was formerly known as the Founders Room.

FLOORED

I have a bottle of sand from Panama City Beach, Fla. from when I went on spring break in college. My wife hates the thing, but I always get a chuckle out of seeing it because it reminds me of one crazy week. I can’t really talk about any of that here, but I assure you, it was a good time.

In that vein, SportsQuest has brought the floor from the Southwest Regional to Richmond. This is the same floor on which the Rams defeated Florida State and Kansas to reach the Final Four. For VCU fans it might as well be made of solid gold. Both Shaka Smart and Richmond Coach Chris Mooney were at SportsQuest recently to celebrate its arrival. The word on the street is that each school will get a portion of the floor to display. I have no details on this, but I’ll try to find out more.

SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak found inspiration in the book, Soup, by Jon Gordon

On the morning of Oct. 23, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak received a text message from one of her soccer players, Kristin Carden. The Rams were hours from their biggest match of the season, a contest against 18^th-ranked and once-beaten William & Mary, and the senior goalkeeper had a point to make.

Carden had been inspired by a YouTube video called “212: The Extra Degree”. The decidedly low-tech video begins by stating that at 211 degrees, water is hot, but at 212 degrees it boils. It continues, “And with boiling water comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive.” Similar motivational anecdotes follow, but the message remains the same: The margin of victory can be minute, so a little extra effort can be the difference between winning and losing. It’s all in the details.

Carden received permission to play the video for the team prior to the game, and the Rams responded by stunning the Tribe 1-0 to vault into second place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The win also clinched a CAA Tournament berth, VCU’s first since 2007, and punctuated the Rams’ dramatic turnaround.

The Rams are 7-7-4 as they head into Friday’s Senior Day contest with James Madison at SportsBackers Stadium and are unbeaten in eight-matches. VCU’s last loss was a 1-0 defeat at Hofstra on Sept. 25. They’ve managed to string together so much success by stressing the details. They’re sweating the small stuff, if you will. Now, for the first time in years, the Rams are a contender for the CAA crown.

“Almost every game we’ve played this year, the margin of victory was so small, a lot of times it comes down to mentality,” says Roberts Sahaydak’s husband and co-head coach, Tim Sahaydak. “I can recall games that we won and lost this year that have come down to the closing minutes of the game and it’s come down to effort and perseverance more than individual technical ability or a tactical understanding of the game.”

BY POPULAR DEMAND

People have been clamoring for these official Nike jerseys forever, so have at it. Barnes and Noble has your official B.A. Walker jerseys. Go get’em.

SQUASH SEASON IS UPON US

I’ve got a few different blog posts in various stages of completion, one for women’s soccer, one for basketball, one for cross country, but all of those take a back seat to the most important news of the day, the beginning of Drexel Squash season. John White and the women’s squad is set to kick things off tonight at Haverford.

Interesting side note about Haverford. The school claims to have the only varsity cricket team in the country, which begs the question, who the heck do they play? But I digress…

Anyway, John White and Co. will be in action tonight. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Alyssa Marciano who played soccer at Haverford High School. Big night for her. No seniors on the women’s squad, so there’s plenty of room to grow.

Tomorrow it’ll be the men at Haverford. You’re seeing a great rivalry in its infancy.

I’m going to celebrate with a McRib and break out my Drexel Squash t-shirt tomorrow!

MORE SHAKA TALKA

One guy I didn’t talk to on media day was Shaka Smart. There were three reasons for that. No. 1, we had just talked to him at VCU’s own media day just days earlier. No. 2, I wanted to use media day as an opportunity to get interviews with people I don’t normally have access to. No. 3, Coach Smart was the most popular kid on the block and everybody and their brother was crowding around his table.

But the CAA did tape a nice interview with Coach that is worth a listen: