Philadelphia, Pa. - (Nov. 6, 2011) - Lightning struck twice for John McHugh and the men's soccer team on Sunday, November 6 in Philadelphia, as his golden goal in the second overtime vaulted Fordham to a 1-0 win over Temple and helped them share the regular-season title in the Atlantic 10. For McHugh, this was the second overtime marker he tallied this season, after putting in the game's only score in a shutout of Columbia earlier in the year.
The game got off to a slow start for the Owls, as they only managed four shots on goal for the entire first half of play. Fordham tried to press the action early as in the 8th minute, Nathaniel Bekoe let loose a shot that Temple goalie, Bobby Rosato saved. Eight minutes later, it was Andre Seidenthal's turn and shortly after that, Casper Gimand took a turn at the net, but once again, Rosato parried both opportunities. Neither team could manage a goal through the first 45 minutes.
The second half of play turned into a goal-keeping contest as Rosato and Ryan Meara, matched each other through the next 45 minutes as the game was scoreless heading into overtime.
The first overtime generated a strong scoring chance for Fordham in the 94th minute. Aaron Markowitz got the ball in range and flicked a shot at net that Rosato saved to keep the game scoreless. Four minutes later, Meara returned the favor as he made one of his career-high 12 saves to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
The Rams finally broke through in the second overtime. In the 107th minute, Tim Richardson found McHugh who beat Rosato to end the game and seal the Fordham win.
With the win, the Rams finished the regular season with a record of 11-6-1, 7-2 in the A-10. The 21 points in the league puts them at the top of the standings. They will advance to the A-10 Championship, which begins Thursday, November 10 in St. Louis. The Rams will be the number one seed, based on the tiebreaker and have earned a bye in the tournament. This will be the fourth time in the past five seasons that the Rams have advanced to the post season.
The 11 wins are the most victories in head coach Jim McElderry's tenure at Fordham. The 2011 season also marks the first time in a quarter century that the Rams defeated two Top-25 teams in the same season. (Picture courtesy of Durval Morgan)
