By Tara Cangialosi
The Fordham men’s soccer team defeated Saint Louis 2-1 in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Friday, sending the team to the finals.
The Rams will take on the number one-seeded University of Rhode Island in the final match of the tournament, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m.
Rhode Island, who finished 7-1 in the A-10 Conference this year, defeated George Mason 2-1 on a golden goal in the second overtime during the day’s previous semifinal match.
The scoring for Fordham began with sixteen minutes left in the first half. Aleksandar Mastilovic assisted Ryan Cupolo on a set piece to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
Following a period of scoreless play, Fordham increased their lead with 13 minutes remaining in the game. Freshman Jannik Loebe finished the shot to make the score 2-0.
In the 81st minute, Saint Louis got on the board. The Billikins’ David Graydon curved an incredible shot into the upper right corner of the net to narrow the scoring margin to 2-1.
The Rams would hang on though, with senior goalkeeper Sean Brailey punching a final save over the cross bar on Saint Louis’ final attempt to tie the game.
With Thursday night’s shootout win against VCU and Friday’s defeat of Saint Louis, it is the first time since winning the conference title in 1996 that the Rams have advanced past their opening round game in the A-10 Championship.
The Rams will have the day off on Saturday, where they will prepare and rest up for Sunday’s final match.
The A-10 final game will be played at VCU’s SportsBreakers Stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, in addition to the A-10 Championship title.
The game can be live-streamed on Atlantic10.com for free.
_____________________________________________
Tara Cangialosi is the Web Editor at The Fordham Ram
