Nov. 12, 2009
Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship Central | Fordham Game Notes | St. Bonaventure vs. Fordham GameTracker
Kingston, R.I. -
Fordham enters the 2009 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship as the #3 seed and will play #6 St. Bonaventure at 5:00 PM on Thursday. The winner will then move on to meet either Dayton or Saint Louis in the semifinals on Friday.
This is Fordham's fifth appearance in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, with the other appearances coming in 1996, 1998, 2007 and 2008. The Rams head into the tournament playing extremely well with a 9-2-3 record over the last 14 games.
In their previous appearances, Fordham is 2-3 overall with one Atlantic 10 championship. In 1996, Fordham defeated La Salle, 4-3, in the semifinals, and topped Rhode Island, 2-1, for the Atlantic 10 title, while in 1998, the Rams lost in the semifinals to Virginia Tech (2-1). In 2007, the Rams fell to Charlotte, 2-1, in the opening round, while in 2008, the Rams fell to Saint Louis by a 2-0 score.
THE GAMES: The Championship commences on Thursday, November 12th with No. 3 Fordham versus No. 6 St. Bonaventure at 5:00 PM, followed by No. 5 Charlotte facing host and No. 4 Rhode Island at 7:30 p.m. The semifinal matches, scheduled for Friday, November 13th, feature top-seeded Dayton playing the lowest remaining seed at 5:00 p.m., and Saint Louis, the No. 2 seed, playing the highest remaining seed at 7:30 p.m. The A-10 Championship match is set for Sunday, November 15th at 1:00 p.m.
THE OPPONENTS: Among the teams that made the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament, Fordham faced all three teams during the regular season. The Rams posted a 1-1-1 record against those teams, as they defeated St. Bonaventure (1-0), tied Charlotte (2-2), and lost to Saint Louis (4-1). The Rams did not play Rhode Island or Dayton this season.
LAST MEETING (Fordham 1, St. Bonaventure 0): The Fordham men's soccer team started off Atlantic 10 play on the right foot with a 2-1 win over St. Bonaventure. Senior Alex Brunbauer and freshman Marcus Axelsson punched in the Rams' goals.
Brunbauer gave the Rams the first score of the game with his first goal of the year when his shot just inside the box got passed Bonnies' keeper David Flynn and into the left side of the net. Sophomore Tim Richardson assisted on the play, giving him two on the year and a team leading six points.
St. Bonaventure wasted no time getting that goal back 21 seconds later with the conference's second leading scorer, Sam Maheu, knocking in his seven goal of the season.
It took less than ten minutes into the second half for Fordham to regain the lead with sophomore Matt Courtenay lofting in a Fordham free kick for Axelsson to head in for his second goal of the year. That header proved to be the game winner as the Rams held on for the 2-1 win.
Sophomore goalie Ryan Meara had one save in the match.
THE CAPTAINS: Graduate student Chris Paolino and seniors Alex Brunbauer and Mike McTigue will serve as team captains for the 2009 season.
2009 ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED (11/11): The Atlantic 10 announced their 2009 Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams and major awards with three Fordham Rams earning accolades. Sophomore midfielder
Tim Richardson earned the top prize as he was selected as the Atlantic 10's Midfielder of the Year, as well as First Team All-Conference. Joining Richardson on the First Team was sophomore goalkeeper
Ryan Meara, while senior defender
Mike McTigue was named Honorable Mention All-Atlantic 10.
Richardson had a superb sophomore campaign, leading the Rams in goals (6), points (14), and game-winning goals (3), which were all career-highs. Most of that damage came in league play with four goals, nine points, and two game-winning goals against Atlantic 10 competition. Richardson is the second Fordham Ram to receive a major men's soccer award from the Atlantic 10, joining former Fordham standout John Wolyniec (`98), who was named the 1998 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year.
Meara, a preseason All-Conference selection at the start of the season, was an iron man in net for Fordham. He played all but nine minutes this season (1677:45), posted a 9-6-3 record, a 1.01 goals against average, and 7.5 shutouts. In league play, Meara led the Rams to a 6-1-2 mark, posting a 0.85 goals against average, 4.5 shutouts, and a better than .800 save percentage.
Along with Meara, McTigue, a 2009 tri-captain, was a big part of a Fordham defense that allowed one goal or less in 12 games this season, which included eight shutouts. He also chipped in offensively recording a pair of assists in 18 games played.
MOVING UP: In just two short seasons, sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Meara has etched his name all over the Fordham goalkeeping record book.
He is already fifth in career minutes played at 3,433, sixth in appearance (37) and second in career shutouts at 15 1/2. He is also on pace to break the career goals against average mark at 1.00, bettering the mark of 1.09, set by Justin Burse from 2004-07.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE: The Rams feature players from six countries and nine U.S. states this season. The Rams have players from the United States, New Zealand, Brazil, Trinidad, Ireland, and Sweden.
BALANCED ATTACK: One of the staples of Fordham soccer under Jim McElderry is a balanced offensive attack. Last season, Fordham had 11 players score, while 16 had at least one point. This season is no different, as nine players have scored a goal this year, while 15 players have at least one point in the scoring column.
SUPER SOPHS: The success of the 2009 Rams has been dominated by the sophomore class, which has been a little wiser with their first season behind them. The group of Tim Richardson, Matt Courtenay, John Niyonsaba, Andreas Pafitis, Aaron Markowitz, and Phil Ferrantello have accounted for 13 goals and 10 assists, which accounts for 60% of the Rams' total offense.
Not be outdone, sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Meara also has an assist this season to go along with a 1.02 goals against average, 7 1/2 shutouts, and 59 saves in 18 games, proving his inclusion on the preseason Atlantic 10 All-Conference team was well deserved.
NO SENIORITIS HERE: For men's soccer seniors Mike McTigue and Alex Brunbauer, there has been little chance to develop any case of "senioritis", starting all 18 games this season for Fordham. Both have had outstanding individual seasons to go along with the team's performance. Brunbauer has career-highs with two goals and three assists for seven points, while McTigue has led the Rams' backfield to eight shutouts and 12 total games of one goal allowed or less.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTORS: Though the sophomore class gets most of the headlines, the Fordham freshmen trio of Michael Valencia, Marcus Axelsson, and Veer Lakhan-Joseph have also been very effective in 2009. A preseason All-Rookie team selection, Valencia has fit the bill in the Fordham defensive midfield, appearing in 17 games and starting the final 11 games of the season, while Lahkan-Joseph has a pair of game-winning goals to his credit, giving the Rams a spark of the bench. Axelsson started the first 11 games and had two goals and an assist, before an injury hit him at midseason.
