Dayton, Ohio – It was a wild, strange men's soccer game at Baujan Field on Wednesday night between the Fordham Rams and Dayton Flyers. From a goal in the first minute to a saved penalty kick to six cards, the match saw a little bit of everything, but in the end, Dayton came away with a 2-1 victory over Fordham.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 3-4-3 on the season, 0-1-1 in the Atlantic 10, while Dayton improved to 4-5-2 on the year, 1-0-1.
It only took 48 seconds for Dayton to get on the scoreboard, as Kennedy Nwabia headed in a corner kick by Rok Taneski for his second goal of the season from eight yards out.
Fordham almost knotted the game at one in the 21
st minute, when
Eric Ohlendorf headed a cross to the top left corner of goal, but Dayton goalkeeper Federico Barrios got a hand on it and pushed it away.
As the game headed toward halftime, the game turned a touch chippy, as six cards were handed out over a six-minute stretch.
Connor DeFilippis
Things would settle down at the start of the second half, until Fordham's
Patrick Thees was called for a foul in the box, awarding a penalty kick to Dayton in the 65
th minute. Taneski stepped to the penalty spot and shot right, but Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu was right there to deflect the shot away, keeping the game at 1-0.
However, Dayton would not be denied a second goal, as they would convert on an opportunity in the 69
th minute. Michael Frasca got loose on a breakaway that Nuhu came out to challenge on. The ball deflected away to the left to Nwabia, who scored into the open net. Fordham argued that the play was offside or a foul may have occurred near Nuhu, but the goal stood, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
Fordham got back into the game in the 80
th minute, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Connor DeFilippis made a cross from the left side to
Janos Loebe, who fired a shot just inside the right post for his third goal of the season.
The Rams pushed the attack over the final ten minutes, earning a pair of corner kick opportunities, but were unable to convert, leaving Fordham with a 2-1 loss.
In net, Barrios finished with four saves in the win, while Nuhu had three stops in the loss.
The Fordham men's soccer team will next be in action on Sunday, October 9
th, when the Rams host UMass at 1:00 PM on Jack Coffey Field.
