By Tyler Freire
As the Fordham Men’s Soccer season draws to a close, the Rams welcomed the University of Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure to Jack Coffey Field as Fordham ended their year on a two game home stand.
First was UMass on Wednesday, Nov. 2nd. The Minutemen put pressure on the Rams early and often, but a pair of defensive stops by junior forward Cole Stevenson and sophomore defender Owen Lawrence would keep the match scoreless through the first 54 minutes.
After multiple scoring chances, the Minutemen finally got on the board as Fordham’s sophomore goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu fouled a cutting UMass player in the box awarding a penalty to the Minutemen. Ty Goncalves took the penalty kick and scored to the right side of the net for his fourth goal of the year.
UMass would strike again five minutes later, as Goncalves’ corner kick was headed into the net by Josh Jess for his fourth of the season giving UMass the 2-0 lead. For the remainder of the match the Rams failed to create chances and scoring opportunities as Jorge Becerra made three huge saves for the Minutemen to secure the 2-0 victory. Nuhu had one save for Fordham.
Following that disappointing loss against UMass, the Rams certainly did not want a repeat performance on Senior Night as the Rams hosted St. Bonaventure. Fordham did not waste any time getting on the board as sophomore forward Janos Loebe made a run down the left sideline, crossing the ball to the top of the box for a one-timer by Stevenson. Stevenson glanced the shot off the crossbar and in from 17 yards out, giving him his fourth goal of the season and giving the Rams the 1-0 lead.
Shortly after the first goal, Fordham struck again, this time on a corner from the left side by Stevenson. Fordham had multiple chances inside of eight yards, with junior midfielder Eric Ohlendorf getting a shot blocked and then the ball came back to freshman defender Joergen Oland, who buried a shot from 10 yards into the lower right corner for his first career goal.
The Rams were not done yet, as Fordham picked up their third goal of the game in the 45th minute. Junior forward Jannik Loebe made a run right down the center of the field, slipping a pass left to freshman forward Dantae Greer. Greer then placed a perfect shot right through the St. Bonaventure goalkeeper’s legs for his second goal of the season, giving the Rams a 3-0 lead heading into the locker room.
The seniors started the scoring in the second half with the final goal of the game in the 54th minute. Right after subbing into the game, senior midfielder Ole Sandnes laid off a pass to fellow senior defender Andrew Hickey, streaking toward the box on the left side. Hickey’s cross found Jannik in front of goal for the perfect finish from six yards out. It was Jannik’s fifth goal of the season, completing the scoring for the day and giving the Rams the 4-0 victory in the season finale.
A trio of Fordham goalkeepers posted the shutout on Saturday, as starter Nuhu made three saves over the first 65 minutes, while junior Jordan Black and sophomore Dan Miklos wrapped up the final 25 minutes without allowing a goal.
“We were disappointed as a team to lose to UMass at home, so it was very important to come and play well in our final home game of the season,” said head coach Jim McElderry. “The players were motivated to perform well from the kick off. I was proud of the way the entire team was focused on the match and played well for 90 minutes.”
The Fordham men’s soccer team now turns their attention to the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship, which begins on Thursday, Nov.10th, at Davidson’s Alumni Soccer Stadium in North Carolina. The second-seeded Rams will face the seventh-seeded Duquesne Dukes at 5 PM.
“We have had a good A-10 season this year. Finishing second in a 13 team league is a good accomplishment,” said McElderry. “But now we understand is simply a three-game tournament. We are only concerned about our match on Thursday. We are preparing for that game only. We will have three good days of training leading up to the Thursday match and will focus all our efforts on that match.”
