Men’s Soccer Opens NCAA Championship with Marshall on Sunday

Wilson, N.C. – (May 1, 2021) – The wait is over for the Fordham men's soccer team as the 23^rd-ranked Rams will get their NCAA Championship run started on Sunday afternoon against the 10^th-ranked Marshall Thundering Herd at the Gillette Soccer Complex in Wilson, N.C.
 
Fordham (7-0-2) enters the NCAA Championship as one of four unbeaten teams in the field, along with James Madison (5-0-3), New Hampshire (8-0-1), and Loyola Marymount (6-0-2).  The Rams defeated George Washington, 2-0, to win the A-10 Championship and the league's automatic NCAA bid.
 
Marshall (9-2-2) won its second straight Conference USA Championship with a 2-0 win over Charlotte to earn the NCAA automatic bid.
 
The match between Fordham and Marshall will feature two of the stingiest defenses in the country with Marshall being fourth in the NCAA in team goals against average at 0.44, while Fordham is fifth at 0.52.  Fordham has allowed only five goals in their nine matches this spring, while Marshall has given up six in 13 matches.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Sunday – Fordham vs. Marshall – 1:00 PM // Games Notes (PDF) | Interactive Bracket | Limited Tickets | Live Video | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter/InstaGram/Facebook - @FordhamSoccer
 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: This is Fordham's fifth trip to the NCAA Championship with the last coming in 2017, when the Rams reached NCAA quarterfinals in the squad's best showing at the championship.  Overall, Fordham is 2-4-1 in the Championship.
 
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first-ever meeting between Fordham and Marshall.  Against the current members of Conference USA, Fordham is 3-2-2, all of which came against Charlotte, when the 49ers were a part of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
 
RAMS IN THE RANKINGS (4/20): Following its selection into the NCAA Championship, the Fordham men's soccer team received more good news, as the Rams entered the top 25 polls for the first time since the early portion of the 2018 season.  Following the Rams' Atlantic 10 Championship victory, Fordham entered the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll at #23, the College Soccer News Poll at #23, and the TopDrawerSoccer Poll at #24.
 
RAMS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: For games played through April 18th, the Fordham Rams are in the top 20 nationally in a number of statistical categories. Fordham is currently fourth in save percentage (.878) and fifth in team goals against average (0.52), while being 17th in shutout percentage and 20th in goal differential (+12). 
 
LAST TIME OUT (4/18): Fordham's Matt Sloan and Alberto Pangrazzi both scored their second goal of the championship, as the Rams defeated the George Washington Colonials, 2-0, to win the 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.  For Fordham, it was the team's fourth conference championship and earned the Rams' fifth trip to the NCAA Championship.

 
Fordham controlled a strong portion of the first half, which led to the Rams netting the first goal of the match.  After a clearance, Galen Flynn got control of the ball and lift a ball toward the center of the box.  The ball found Matt Sloan's head, who knocked it inside the right post for his fourth goal of the season and second of the championship.
 
Sloan almost made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute, as he blasted a shot from distance that deflected toward the top left corner, but George Washington goalkeeper Justin Grady was just able to get a hand on it and push it away.
 
The Rams though would not be denied that second marker, getting it in the 55th minute of second half.  Sameer Fathazada cuts across the field from the near sideline to the corner of the box.  He chipped a cross to the center of the box for Alberto Pangrazzi for a header goal into the right side of the net from 10 yards.  It was Pangrazzi's second goal of the championship.
 
From there, Fordham went into lockdown mode defensively, allowing just one shot on goal for the rest of the match.  Goalkeeper Josh Levine made that one save to record his fifth shutout of the season, as the Rams remain unbeaten this season at 7-0-2.
 
Sloan was selected at the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship, while he, Pangrazzi, Flynn, Fathazada, Levine, and Luke McNamara were all selected to the All-Championship Team.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Win a win, Fordham would advance to the third round of the NCAA Championship and face the winner of Clemson-American match on May 6^th.