On This Date Presented by Belmont Realty
 
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 8, 1996 – (Dayton, Ohio) – In just its second year in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Fordham men's soccer team already found themselves in the Atlantic 10 Championship, facing the La Salle Explorers in the semifinals at a chilly, rainy Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.
 
The match was physical as well as high scoring with Fordham rallying from a 3-2 second half deficit to defeat the Explorers, 4-3 and advance to the 1996 Atlantic 10 Championship match.
 
The scoring started early in the sixth minute when Harris Tsangaris set up Anthony Soldo to give Fordham a 1-0 lead. 
 
La Salle knotted the game at one about seven minutes later, but once again Tsangaris set up Soldo in the 16^th minute to put Fordham back on top by one.
 
The physicality would then start to pick up, as officials handed out four yellow cards and called 26 fouls in the match.
 
The Explorers tied the game at two just prior to halftime on a goal by Casidia Calosante, and then grabbed a 3-2 edge in the 60^th minute on a penalty kick from Calosante.
 
Fordham had the answer though scoring twice in the 81^st and 84^th minutes to re-take the lead.  First, Sal Leanti connected with Rams' leading scorer John Wolyniec to tie the game at three.  Then, Wolyniec and Soldo put together a pair of perfect passes to find Robert Zuclich for the go-ahead goal.
 
The Rams held on for the 4-3 win, outshooting La Salle, 15-9 in the match.  In net, Jim Grandinetti had five saves for Fordham in the win, while La Salle's Dan Devery also had five stops.