On This Date Presented by
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With the 2020 fall sports season canceled by the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Fordham have decided to dig back through our archives and provide our fans with content on some of the outstanding teams and student-athletes who have graced Rose Hill over the years.
November 16, 2017 – Bronx, N.Y. -
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Highlights - Fordham's
Joergen Oland scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute to give the Fordham men's soccer team a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship at Jack Coffey Field. It is Fordham's first-ever NCAA victory.
In addition to being the first-ever NCAA win for the Rams, it also gave the Rams 13 wins on the season, tying the program record, set in 1985.
"Just an unbelievable atmosphere tonight. Really proud of so many people coming out to the game and it being a special moment for our players," said Fordham head coach
Jim McElderry after win. "I couldn't be prouder of the group. Some of our big players stepped up and had some massive moments for us tonight."
Joergen Oland sneaks the ball by the SFC goalkeeper.
Things did not get off to a good start as the Terriers opened the scoring in the ninth minute, as Dominick Falanga got a cross to Leo Folla on the left side, and he slid a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal for his third marker of the season.
The score remained at 1-0 in favor of the Terriers until the 72nd minute, when Fordham knotted the game at one on a long distance effort from Jannik Loebe. Loebe dribbled up the right side and fired the ball toward goal from almost 35 yards near the sideline. The ball had plenty of movement on it and ducked inside the top right corner of the goal to tie the game at one. It was Loebe's seventh of the season, tying his career-high.
The tie score lasted only seconds, as the Terriers regained the lead at 2-1 on a goal by Nadim Saqui. Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu attempted to clear the ball from Saqui's possession on the right side of the box, but Saqui was just able to chip the ball inside the left post for his fourth goal of the season.
Nuhu made that goal up in the 81st minute, as he launched a free kick from midfield, and found Matthew Lewis for a looping header that bounced inside the right post to knot the game at two. It was Lewis' second goal of the season.
The game then went to overtime, where the Rams completed the comeback in the 96th minute. After a clearance, Vincenzo Zuccla picked up the ball for Fordham near midfield. He booted the ball to Connor DeFilippis for a flick-on header, which found
Joergen Oland. Oland made one move and snuck the ball past the St. Francis goalkeeper for his fifth marker of the year and the game-winning goal.
The win advanced the Rams into a second round match with #11 Virginia, which can be read about on Thursday's On This Date.
November 16, 2014 – Richmond, Va. –
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Highlights – Behind yet another stellar defensive effort and a goal by Jannik Loebe, the Fordham Rams captured their second-ever Atlantic 10 Championship, defeating the top-seeded Rhode Island Rams, 1-0, at Sports Backer Stadium. It is Fordham's second trip to the NCAA tournament, having won the Atlantic 10 title back in 1996 and capturing a win in the play-in game (read more about that below).
2014 A-10 Men's Soccer Championship MOP - Sean Brailey
Fordham became only the second team in A-10 Championship history to defeat the #1, #2, and #3 seeds to become champion, joining Xavier in 2010. The Rams knocked off third-seeded VCU in a penalty kick shootout after a scoreless game in the quarterfinals, while defeating second-seeded Saint Louis, 2-1, in the semifinals.
After a scoreless first half, Fordham struck in the opening minute of the second off a long throw-in by Christoher Bazzini. Bazzini's throw-in was picked up by Jannik Loebe, who quickly fired a shot from 12 yards out, beating URI goalkeeper Nils Leifhelm to the left side for the only goal of the game.
Rhode Island tried everything possible to get the equalizer, firing 14 shots at the Fordham net, but none of them were on target, as Fordham goalkeeper Sean Brailey posted his second shutout of the tournament without making a save.
Similar to the Rams' title in 1996, Fordham's goalkeeper was awarded the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament, as Brailey had 13 saves and two shutouts over the three games.
In addition to Brailey, Fordham had four other players make the All-Championship team. They were midfielder Aleksandar Mastilovic, Loebe, Bazzini, and Matthew Lewis.
The Rams celebrate after their win in the NCAA Play-In Match
November 16, 1996 – Bronx, N.Y. – After winning the 1996 Atlantic 10 Championship, the Fordham men's soccer team still hadn't quite made it into the NCAA Championship field yet. First, they would have to win a play-in contest against eight-time MAAC Champion Loyola on Fordham's home turf of Edwards Parade.
It was an uphill battle which included losing a player to a red card, but in the end Fordham's John Wolyniec netted the game-winning goal, while Jim Grandinetti made 11 saves in net for a 3-2 victory over the Greyhounds.
The Rams got on the board first about 15 minutes in the contest, as Wolyniec fed a pass to Robert Zuclich 20 yards from goal to go one-on-one with the Loyola goalkeeper and scoring the opening marker. However, Loyola would tie the game at one about 10 minutes later, which is how the half would end.
The two teams exchanged goals in the early part of the second half, making it a 2-2 game. The Rams scored in the 54
th minute, when Sal Leanti fed Todd Vieira for a 2-1 edge, while in the 64
th minute Loyola got an unassisted goal.
The turning point of the game came in the 66
th minute, when Leanti received a red card forcing Fordham to play down a man. The disadvantage for the Rams sparked the team's intensity which led to Zuclich delivering a crisp, one-touch pass to Wolyniec 15 yards from goal. Wolyniec then put the moves on a Loyola defender and netted the go-ahead goal.
For there, the Fordham defenders and goalkeeper Jim Grandinetti held strong and capped the 3-2 win, sending the Rams onto the NCAA Championship. Grandinetti finished with 11 stops in the contest, while Loyola's Joe Schafer had nine saves.
