Dayton, Ohio. – (April 16, 2021) – Following a come-from-behind win in the semifinals on Thursday, the Fordham Rams are just one win away from claiming their fourth Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship and a spot in the NCAA Championship.
The third-seeded Rams will face fourth-seeded George Washington in the championship match at noon. The match can be seen on ESPN+. The championship will feature the top two defensive teams in the Atlantic 10, with the Colonials having a 0.51 goals against average to the Rams' 0.58.
Fordham (6-0-2) remained unbeaten on the year after defeating Saint Louis, 2-1, behind second half goals by
Matt Sloan and
Alberto Pangrazzi. The Rams continue to receive contributions from all over the pitch, as seven different players have scored in this abbreviated season, while 11 players have at least one point. Defensively, the Rams got excellent play from goalkeeper
Josh Levine who stopped five shots in the semifinal victory. For Fordham, this is the team's fourth A-10 championship match, winning it each of the first three times (1996, 2014, 2016).
George Washington (5-2-2) earned its way into the Atlantic 10 Championship final on the strength of a 1-0 win over top seeded Dayton on Thursday. Sandro Weber scored the lone goal of the contest 10 minutes into the second half, while Justin Grady had six saves in the win. This is also George Washington's fourth appearance in the final, winning the crown in 2002 and 2004, while dropping a penalty kick shootout in 2011.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – Fordham vs. George Washington – 12:00 PM //
Pregame Zoom Watch Party |
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Video (International Feed) |
Live Stats | Follow on Twitter/InstaGram/Facebook - @FordhamSoccer
A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: This is Fordham's 13
th appearance at the Atlantic 10 Championship, posting a 10-8-3 record and winning three conference titles in 1996, 2014, and 2016. The Rams have had good success when the Championship is in Dayton, posting a 4-1 mark in games played at Baujan Field, which included winning the 1996 crown. In Fordham's three championship runs, the Rams' goalkeepers have earned the Most Outstanding Performer of the Championship all three times (Jim Grandinetti – 1996; Sean Brailey – 2014;
Rashid Nuhu – 2017).
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 19
th overall meeting between Fordham and George Washington, but the first in the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Colonials hold a 9-5-4 series edge with the last contest being a 0-0 draw in 2018. Fordham will look for its first win over the Colonials since 2012.
McNAMARA & BOHM EARN A-10 HONORS: Prior to the start of the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced the Men's Soccer All-Conference teams and major award winners. Among the honorees, Fordham senior
Luke McNamara was named First Team All-Atlantic 10, while senior
Jacob Bohm was selected to the Academic All-Conference team. This marks the seventh consecutive season that Fordham has had a First Team honoree.
McNamara started all seven games that Fordham played at defender this spring. Playing every minute, he led a Fordham defense that posted four shutouts and a 0.52 goals against average, while finishing with an unbeaten record (5-0-2). He also contributed on the offensive end, tying for the team-lead with a career-best three goals and was named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week once this season.
Bohm, a Communications & Culture major with a 3.72 GPA, is a three-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Fordham University's Dean's List. A 2021 team captain, he played in six of the Rams' seven games this season, posting one assist from his midfielder position, which was on the game-winning goal at Saint Joseph's.
Josh Levine
LAST TIME OUT (4/15): Behind a pair of second half goal, the Fordham Rams secured their spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship with a 2-1 win over the Saint Louis Billikens.
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, who one-timed a shot 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 corner of the net with 20 seconds left, while a cross with 10 seconds 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.
LEVINE NAMED A-10 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (4/12): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its final weekly men's soccer awards on April 12
th with Fordham graduate student goalkeeper
Josh Levine receiving Defensive Player of the Week honors. It was Levine's second consecutive Player of the Week award.
In his lone appearance, Levine helped the Rams cap an unbeaten regular season at 5-0-2 and secure a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship. He backstopped Fordham to a 2-0 win over Saint Joseph's on Saturday, making three saves in the contest for his fourth shutout in seven games this spring.
Heading into the championship, Levine ranked in the top 30 nationally in goals against average (10
th – 0.52), save percentage (6th - .882), saves per game (29
th – 4.29), and shutouts (T-26th - 4).
Sameer Fathazada
COMING UP BIG, WHEN IT COUNTS: Since joining the Rams in 2018, senior
Sameer Fathazada always seems to have a flare for the dramatic and has continued that trend this spring. After netting three game-winning goals in his first two seasons, he has added three more to the ledger in 2021.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT: With a short season, the impact of newcomers is vital to a team's success and that has certainly been the case for Fordham this spring. Seven different newcomers have registered at least one point, led by freshman
Florian Deletioglu, who has three goals and an assist. Fellow freshmen
Galen Flynn (1 goal, 2 assists) and
Max Rogers (1 goal, 1 assist) have also contributed, while
Sebastian Fabrin has been a staple on the Rams' backline.
Aside from the freshmen, Fordham transfers
Matt Sloan (3 goals, 1 assist),
Lennart Keßner (1 assist),
Alberto Pangrazzi (1 goal, 2 assists),
Brandon Golden (1 assist) and
Josh Levine (0.58 GAA, 4 shutouts) have all played big parts in the Rams' unbeaten spring.
WHO'S NEXT: The winner of Saturday's final will find out its next game on Monday at noon during the NCAA selection show.
