Chicago, Ill. – (January 14, 2019) – Just a few days after one Fordham Ram had his named called in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, another heard his on Monday afternoon, as Fordham men's soccer goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu (Accra, Ghana) was selected with the 22
nd selection of the third round (70
th selection overall) by the New York Red Bulls.
Nuhu joins his Fordham teammate
Janos Loebe as a Red Bulls draft pick this season, marking the first time that Fordham has had two MLS SuperDraft selections in the same year. He is now the fourth Fordham player drafted by the Red Bulls franchise, along with Loebe, Ryan Meara, who was a second round selection in 2012, and John Wolyniec, who was a first round selection (7
th overall) by the then-NY/NJ MetroStars in 1999.
"This day means a lot to me. I have been waiting for this day for so long," said Nuhu. "I just want to thank my mom for all the sacrifices she has made for me to be where I am. To all my past coaches and teammates – thank you all for being there for me. These past few days have been really stressful and seeing the Red Bulls give me this opportunity means everything to me. Thank you to Fordham for helping me with this process. The love the community has shown me is unbelievable and will never be forgotten."
Nuhu had a strong showing at the MLS Combine earlier in the month, playing for Team Nemeziz in the combines scrimmage contests.
Nuhu's selection caps an outstanding four-year career at Fordham, where he was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 performer, receiving First Team honors during his final two seasons, while being a three-time All-Region goalkeeper. In 2016, he was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the Atlantic 10 Championship, posting three shutouts in three games to win the conference title, while in 2017 he was a big part of Fordham's run to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals.
This past season, he started 16 games for Fordham, recording a 0.94 goals against average, a .781 save percentage, 57 saves, and six shutouts. He earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week honors once during the season and rated third in the Atlantic 10 in save percentage, fourth in goals against average, tied for sixth in saves, and tied for fourth in shutouts.
Nuhu finished his career as one of the program's best netminders, setting the career record for minutes played by a goalkeeper (6942) and tying the career appearances mark (74), while being second in shutouts (30) and goals against average (0.93).
