Box Score Final Stats
Providence, R.I. - The Fordham men's soccer team started a daunting string of four straight road games on Friday with a 2-1, overtime win over Siena in the opening round of the Dunkin Donuts Brown Soccer Classic from Providence, Rhode Island. Tommy Granotconnected on the golden goal in the 99th minute.
Fordham had a few changes in the starting lineup as Ollie Kelly and Ryan Walshopened the game on the pitch in an effort to generate more offense. The lineup change would benefit the Rams.
There was no scoring by either side in the opening stanza, but Michael Valencia, who came on as a substitute, put the Rams up 1-0 in the 52nd minute with a blast past Saints' goalie Damian Liesmann after getting the one-timer pass from Kalle Sotkaon the left side. It was Sotka's first point with Fordham.
Siena would score the equalizer with just 11 minutes remaining in regulation as Daniel Alderstad found fellow Scandinavian Sindre Ek, who put the ball past Sean Braileyfor the game-tying goal. For Ek, it was his fourth goal in four games.
As the extra time started, the Rams dominated play. Granot, who came on as a substitute nearly won the game four minutes into the extra time as his shot beat Liesmann, but deflected off the post and ricocheted safely away from the net. Granot would be more fortunate on his next attempt.
Just five minutes later, Fordham was on the attack again as Valencia picked up his third point of the match, launching a pass over to Nathaniel Bekoe, who came up from the backline. Bekoe flicked the ball over to Granot who buried it in the back of the net, giving the Rams a 2-1, overtime victory.
Fordham is now 3-0-1 all-time against Siena, with three of the contests decided in overtime. The Rams outshot the Saints, 22-12; with eight on goal, to five for Siena. Sotka led Fordham with four shots while Brailey made three saves to record his second win of the year.
The Rams conclude play in the Dunkin Donuts Brown Soccer Classic on Sunday, September 9, as they face the host, and 24th ranked Bears, at 2:30 PM.
The victory got the team back to the .500 mark, at 2-2, and started off string of four straight road games with a win. Besides #24 Brown, the other two Fordham road opponents in this stretch will be Stony Brook (an NCAA team from a year ago) and Yale.
The Rams will return home to face Manhattan on September 28.
