By Tara Cangialosi
After nearly 100 minutes of play, 31 shots and five yellow cards, the Fordham men’s soccer team stormed the field in victory after it defeated Temple University 1-0 in overtime last Wednesday, Sept. 17 on Jack Coffey Field.
The winning moment came in the 99th minute, when the Rams’ Andres Penfold was fouled inside the penalty box. The referee called for a penalty kick, which the streaking senior fired past Temple’s goalkeeper with ease.
With the win, Fordham moved to a 3-0 home record for the first time since the 1998 season when games were played on Edward’s Parade. Its overall record also improved 3-2-1 on the season, and the team remains unbeaten in its last four contests (3-0-1).
“I think our guys have really bought into trying to win our games at home,” head coach Jim McElderry said. “In the overtime, our guys really pushed and tried to win the game.”
Fordham did not waste any time creating scoring opportunities in the first half. Both sophomore Ole Sandnes and junior Tomas Penfold had multiple shots on goal within the first few minutes of the game. These chances, however, resulted in saves from Temple’s goalkeeper, Dan Scheck.
Senior keeper Sean Brailey got the job done for Fordham in the first half, making five key saves to keep the game scoreless. The most important save came in the 40th minute, when Brailey dove to the far post and punched away a shot from Temple’s Olli Tynkkynen.
Besides a few moments of excitement and shots one net, the remainder of the first half was slow. The teams exchanged possession frequently, and were unsuccessful in all of their scoring opportunities.
“Today we were under a lot of pressure,” sophomore defender Andy Hickey said. “They have a lot of good individual talent up top, but we felt like if we broke down those individuals coming at us defensively, that we could be on top.”
In the second half, play tightened up and the goalkeeper only made one save each to force overtime.
With less than a minute left in the first overtime, the momentum shifted in Fordham’s favor. Senior Eric Walano, a substitute, played a flawless ball across the 18 yard box, where Penfold hoped to meet the ball with a strike.
However, Penfold was tripped up by Temple’s Robert Sagel inside the box, causing the referee to blow his whistle and issue a penalty kick. With 13.9 seconds left, Penfold buried the kick into the top left corner, earning his fifth goal of the season and the overtime victory for the Rams.
“Eric put on a great shift. He came in for nine minutes…and was able to make an impact,” Penfold said of his teammate. “And then I thought I got taken down in the box, and so did the ref. The rest is history.”
Of Penfold’s five goals this season, three have been game-winning goals.
In goal, Brailey finished with seven saves for the Rams, while also recording his first shutout of the season and the seventh of his career. Temple’s Scheck recorded four saves, while the Owls fell to 1-4-1 on the season overall.
“I’m happy with the commitment of the group so far, especially at home,” McElderry said as his players rang the victory bell. “We have really come and competed well, so I’m excited for the future.”
The team will next be in action on Wednesday, Sept. 24, when the Rams travel to Columbia for a 7 p.m. match against the Lions.
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Tara Cangialosi is the Web Editor for The Fordham Ram.