Madison, Wisc. – (September 1, 2018) – After waiting out a regulation contest between Northwestern and Valparaiso, the Fordham men's soccer team found itself in a double overtime contest against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday night. In the end, Fordham's
Johannes Pieles scored 1:23 into the second overtime session to give the Rams a 1-0 win over the Badgers at McClimon Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
With the win, the Rams improved to 2-0 on the year, while Wisconsin, who was receiving votes in this week's top 25 polls, fell to 1-2-0. The win marked Fordham's first win over a Big Ten opponent.
During regulation, each team had periods of control, as the Rams earned six corner kick opportunities in just the first half, while Wisconsin had the edge in the shot department at 13-3.
However out of those 13 shots, only two were on goal and both were handled by Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu, who made his 2018 debut on Saturday.
Rashid Nuhu recorded his
25th career shutout on Saturday.
In overtime, Fordham almost ended the game on multiple occasions in the first ten minutes with three corner kicks and shots on goal by both
Sameer Fathazada and Pieles, but both shots were stopped by Wisconsin keeper Dean Cowdroy.
Pieles though would not be denied in the second overtime session. After a foul on the Badgers,
Janos Loebe lined up a free kick from 35 yards on the right side, bending his cross in left to right through the box. Pieles snuck behind the back line and redirected the ball into the right side of the net for the game-winner and his first goal of the season.
In net, Nuhu finished with two saves for his 25
th career shutout, while Cowdroy also had two stops.
The Rams finish up their stay in Wisconsin on Monday, when they face the Northwestern Wildcats at 1:00 PM ET on Labor Day.
