VCU's Rafa Andrade Santos netted the only goal of the game in the final minute of the first half, while Pierre Gardan posted four saves, as the VCU Rams topped the Fordham Rams, 1-0, in the Atlantic 10 semifinals at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va.
VCU had the first opportunity of the match in the 10
th minute, when Ivan Sakou took a shot from the right side which Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu had to punch over the crossbar for the first save of the game.
Fordham had their first chance in the 17
th minute off a beautiful cross by
Andrew Hickey from the far side, which found
Janos Loebe for a header. The header took a hard bounce and just missed the goal, going over the crossbar.
VCU kept coming at Fordham with a shot from Eli Lockaby in the 43
rd minute on a quick windup. Nuhu though snagged the save to the right post to keep the game scoreless.
However, VCU would solve Nuhu in the final minute of the half. Rafa Andrade Santos picked up a Fordham turnover at midfield and dribbled toward the top right of the box. Santos fired a strike from 23 yards out to the upper 90, netting his fifth goal of the season, for a 1-0 halftime lead.
Fordham threw everything possible at the VCU net in the second half to find the equalizer. In the 54
th minute,
Ryan Cupolo had a header shot off a
Janos Loebe corner kick that was headed for goal but was cleared off the line by VCU defender R.J. Roberts.
Then in the 62
nd minute,
Kyle Bitterman crossed the ball from the right side to
Eric Ohlendorf for a point blank header from eight yards, but VCU's Pierre Gardan was right there for the quick catch to keep it at 1-0.
The 68
th minute saw another defender save off a Fordham corner kick. Loebe found
Andres Penfold for a header, but once again the ball was cleared off the line by Roberts.
In the 78
th minute, Fordham almost got the equalizer on a VCU own goal, as a cross from Bitterman was headed by VCU's Dennis Castillo and grazed the crossbar, leading to a corner kick.
Matthew Lewis got a header toward goal on that corner, but the save was once again made by Gardan.
The Rams' final chances came on back-to-back corners, one of which the rebound laid in the box, but Fordham was unable to control the scramble for the ball and it was cleared over the endline. On the second attempt, Penfold got a head on it but it went high over the bar, leaving Fordham with the 1-0 loss.
In net, Nuhu made five saves, while Gardan had four for VCU.
Fordham ends the season at 7-8-4 overall. Following the conclusion of the championship, Fordham's
Jannik Loebe was named to the All-Championship Team.
