Men’s Soccer Faces Boston College in NCAA First Round Match-Up on Thursday

Chestnut Hill, Mass. – It's tournament time for the Fordham men's soccer team, as the 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship begins on Thursday with the Rams taking on the Boston College Eagles for an opening round match-up at 6:00 PM at Newton Campus Field.
 
This is Fordham's third trip to the NCAA Championship, following an exciting Atlantic 10 Championship run that saw the Rams (10-6-4) post three shutouts and win a penalty kick shootout for the title.  Boston College (8-8-3, 3-3-2 ACC) was ranked 17th in this week's RPI rankings.  Last season, Boston College made a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.  The winner of the match will travel to face Albany on Sunday, November 20. The Great Danes (12-5-1, 4-2-1 America East) earned the No. 14 seed in the tournament.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Thursday – Fordham vs. Boston College – 6:00 PM – Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN3) | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer | Bracket
 
SERIES HISTORY: This is the seventh meeting between Fordham and Boston College with each team having two wins to go with a pair of ties.  However, the two Jesuit institutions have only met once since 1973.  The Eagles took a 2-0 decision in 2014.
 
RAMS REGIONALLY RANKED BY NSCAA (11/15): For the second straight week, the Fordham Rams are in the top ten in the NSCAA Midwest Regional Rankings on November 15th, moving up to #7.  The Midwest region is comprised of teams from the BIG TEN, Colonial, and Atlantic 10.
Maryland is the top ranked team, followed by Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Delaware, William & Mary, Fordham, Hofstra, UNCW, and Duquesne.
 
HOW WE GOT HERE: Prior to the start of the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Fordham men's soccer team preached, "Defend, Defend, Defend."  By the end of regulation as well as two overtime sessions, the Rams did just that, putting together their third clean sheet of the Championship, however the VCU Rams did not budge either, leaving the 2016 Atlantic 10 title game tied at 0-0 after 110 minutes of action, leading to a penalty kick shootout for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.  In the shootout, Fordham's Rashid Nuhu made three saves, while Janos Loebe, Joergen Oland, and Matthew Lewis, all converted on their chances, as the Rams claimed their second Atlantic 10 Championship in three years, 3-2, over VCU at Davidson's Alumni Soccer Stadium.
 
Though the game was scoreless for 110 minutes, there were chances for both sides to get on the board throughout the game.  In the seventh minute, Fordham's Eric Ohlendorf had the first scoring chance of the game, as he headed down a cross right in front of the six-yard box toward goal, that VCU's Pierre Gardan knocked away for his first save of the game.
 
In the 25th minute, VCU put a cross toward the six-yard box with a player there, but Fordham defender Christopher Bazzini cleared that chance away, keeping the game scoreless.

The second half saw more chances for the two teams, but neither could break through.  The best of all of them was on another header opportunity for Ohlendorf in the 87th minute.  Andrew Hickey placed a cross into the box from the left side, which Ohlendorf headed over the top of the goal, leading to overtime.
 
The second session of overtime saw an early chance for VCU on a long cross from the right side that was headed for a wide open Jorge Herranz in the box, but Nuhu jumped and intercepted the pass before it got to Herranz.
 
The best chance of overtime was in the 107th minute on a brilliant cross from the right side by Fordham's Vincenzo Zuccala, who hit Ohlendorf in stride for a header to the lower left corner.  However, Gardan made a diving fingertip save to keep VCU in the game, and push the game into a shootout.
 
The shootout began VCU's Steve Dal Molin converting on his penalty kick attempt, while Fordham's Janos Loebe converted against VCU backup goalkeeper Joe Rice, who was brought in for the shootout, replacing Gardan.
 
In round two, Dakota Barnathan was denied by Nuhu on a shot to the lower left corner, while Joergen Oland's soft hit found the left side of the net for a 2-1 Fordham edge.  Round three saw Nuhu come up with another save, this one on Herranz, giving Fordham a big chance to take control of the shootout, but Jannik Loebe's attempt sailed high, leaving Fordham still ahead, 2-1.

 
Both teams converted in round four with attempts by VCU's Greg Boehme and Fordham's Matthew Lewis, putting the score at 3-2 with one shooter remaining.  For VCU, it was Eli Lockaby, who went left side, but was denied by Nuhu to give Fordham the Atlantic 10 crown for the second time in three seasons, and third Atlantic 10 title overall.
 
In net, Nuhu, who was selected as the Championship's Most Outstanding Player, posted his third shutout of the Championship, making two saves in the game, but more importantly three stops in the penalty kick shootout.
 
In addition to Nuhu, Fordham also had Janos Loebe, Jannik Loebe, Eric Ohlendorf, and Cole Stevenson named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team.

 
BROTHERS IN ARMS: When the Rams won the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2014, the coaching staff got an important phone call, as then freshman Jannik Loebe's brother, Janos, decided to join his brother at Fordham in 2015.
 
From there, the Loebe brothers have been one of the top scoring duos in the Atlantic 10.  Last season, they combined for ten goals and eight assists and both were selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams with Janos earning the Rookie of the Year award.
 
The brother tandem has been even better this season, totaling 14 goals and 12 assists with each setting career-highs in all offensive categories and earning First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors.  They are currently tied for the team lead in scoring with seven goals apiece and six assists each for 20 points, while both were selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team.