Men’s Soccer Upends Temple in Overtime, 1-0

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In a match that saw close to 100 minutes of action and 31 shots, it was the 31^st shot, a penalty kick by Fordham's Andres Penfold, which proved to be the difference, as the Rams defeated the Temple Owls, 1-0, at Jack Coffey Field on Wednesday.
 
With the win, Fordham moves to 3-2-1 on the year, and unbeaten in its last four contests (3-0-1), while Temple fell to 1-4-1.  The victory also moved Fordham to 3-0 at home for the first time since 1998, when the Rams played on Edwards' Parade as their home field.
 
Fordham didn't wait long for its first scoring chances in the first half.  Ole Sandnes and Tomas Penfold each had shots on goal in the first five minutes of the contest, but both were denied by Temple goalkeeper Dan Scheck.
 
Temple then tested Fordham keeper Sean Brailey on multiple occasions in the opening stanza, but Brailey stood the test, making five saves to keep the game scoreless at the half.  The biggest save came on a free kick in the 40^th minute, as Olli Tynkkynen drilled a low shot to the far post, but Brailey punched it away at the last moment.
 
In the second half, play tightened up with each goalkeeper being called upon only once to make a save, forcing overtime.
 
In the final moments of the first overtime session, Fordham's Eric Walano played a ball from the right sideline toward the box.  It was a foot race to the ball with Fordham's Andres Penfold getting knocked down in the box by Temple's Robert Sagel.  That foul awarded a penalty kick to Penfold with 13.9 seconds left on the clock. 
 
Penfold then calmly converted the penalty kick into the top left corner for his fifth goal of the season, and extended his point scoring streak to four games.  It was also his third game-winning goal of the season.
 
In goal, Brailey made seven saves for the Rams to record his first shutout of the season, and the seventh of his career.  Scheck made four saves for the Owls.
 
The Fordham men's soccer team will next be in action on Wednesday, September 24^th, when the Rams travel to Columbia for a 7:00 PM match with the Lions.