Men’s Soccer Advances to #A10MSOC Championship Match

Video Recap (courtesy of the Atlantic 10)

Dayton, Ohio – (April 15, 2021) – The rollercoaster of emotions in today's second Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship semifinal between the Fordham Rams and Saint Louis Billikens took everyone's breath away at Dayton's Baujan Field in Ohio.  With a Saint Louis flurry in the final seconds that could have tied the game, it was the Rams standing tall with the 2-1 victory over the Billikens, behind a pair of second-half goals in the span of three minutes.
 
The Rams had an early scare as Saint Louis went on the attack in the 21^st minute, when John Klein went on a run and took a hard shot that Fordham goalkeeper Josh Levine made a diving stop to keep the game scoreless.
 
Fordham's luck took a bad break in the 35^th minute, as a cross into the box was deflected by Sebastian Fabrin into the Rams' goal for an own goal and a 1-0 deficit.

 
The Rams did not let that mistake get them down, as the squad tied the game at one in the 55^th minute.  Jack Sluys played a long ball into the box from the midfield line.  The ball went off Alberto Pangrazzi's head to Matt Sloan at the top of the box for a one-timer inside the left post to tie the game.  It was Sloan's third goal of the season.
 
Just 2:55 later, Fordham grabbed a 2-1 advantage, when Galen Flynn settled the ball and played a perfect cross into Pangrazzi for a header goal inside the right post from 12 yards out.  It was Pangrazzi's first of the year.
 
From there, Levine and the Fordham defense kept the Billikens at bay but not without a couple of dangerous chances in the final seconds, as a ball into the box deflected off a head and hit the top right corner of the net with 20 seconds left, while a cross with 10 seconds remaining was punched away by Levine.  A final cross into the box was then smothered by Levine to end the match.
 
Levine recorded five saves to earn the win, while his Saint Louis counterpart Patrick Schulte had six saves.
 
With the win, Fordham (6-0-2) advances to the Atlantic 10 Championship match on Saturday, where the team will face George Washington at 12:00 PM.   The game can be seen live on ESPN+.