By MAX PRINZ
SPORTS EDITOR
The Fordham men’s soccer team ended its season this past weekend with a pair of disappointing losses. The Rams suffered two tough defeats to La Salle and St. Joseph’s, failing to qualify for the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Mike Stalker was one of seven seniors honored in the Senior Day ceremony before the team’s loss to St. Joe’s. The Rams were eliminated from playoff contention. (Photo by Ally White/The Ram)
“I thought they played well,” Fordham head coach Jim McElderry said. “I was very proud of the way they came and competed. I thought they worked hard.”
The final weekend of the Fordham season began Friday afternoon against La Salle. Heading into the match, the Rams held a 2-3-1 record in A-10 conference play. La Salle owned a 3-2-1 record when Friday’s match began, meaning a Fordham victory would be very important for the Rams’ playoff chances.
The match began with the Rams starting an offensive attack. Fordham tallied seven first half shots, five of which challenged John McCarthy, the La Salle keeper, to make a save. Senior Mike Stalker took three of his five shots in the first half, but was unable to put the ball past the keeper. McCarthy’s first half saves kept the Explorers in the game and made sure neither team was able to gain an advantage.
The majority of the second half was played just as evenly as the first. The Rams looked to attack yet again, registering a shot in the half’s first 30 seconds, and the Explorers waited for their chance to counterattack. Fordham’s offense got a great chance in the 65th minute, but had a potential breakaway turned back by a La Salle foul and a controversial yellow card.
“I thought there was a chance that he was going to go in on a breakaway, so in theory he’s the last man back and it probably should have been a red card,” McElderry said. “But I knew that he wasn’t going to get a red card because I thought it was too far away from the goal. It was one of those that could have gone either way.”
The yellow card, controversial as it was, did not turn out to be the biggest moment in the game. That moment came in the 78th minute when Glenroy Chapman substituted into the game for the Explorers. The Chapman substitution gave the Explorers a burst. In the 86th minute, Chapman received a long outlet pass and assisted on Jason Plumhoff’s goal that gave the Explorers a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes to play.
“Unfortunately when you don’t punish the team when you’re on top you let them off the hook,” McElderry said. “We didn’t put that pressure of being down a goal. To concede a goal in the 86th minute is extremely tough.”
The Explorers’ first goal demoralized the Rams. La Salle scored their second goal a little over a minute later to seal the game. It was a very difficult loss for Fordham.
Following the tough loss to La Salle, the Rams took on St. Joseph’s on Sunday. It was Senior Day and the Rams’ final match of the year. St. Joseph’s had defeated George Washington on Friday, and the Hawks would qualify for the playoffs with a win. Tensions were understandably high.
Those tensions had a notable impact on the start of the match, as the Rams were whistled for a number of fouls in the early minutes of the first half. St. Joseph’s took advantage of the fouls and made several attacking runs. Senior goalkeeper Alex Naples was, however, always in the right spot to stop those runs and end the danger.
The Hawks finally had a successful attack in the 23rd minute. St. Joseph’s started a counterattack with a long pass from its goalkeeper. Alex Critzos picked up the pass and split Fordham’s centerbacks with a touch to Tim Lazorko, who lobbed the ball just over Naples’ outstretched arms for a goal.
“I thought they scored a good goal in the first half and really sat back and defended it, which wasn’t surprising,” McElderry said. “I really thought we were gonna catch a goal — we had a bunch of chances. But we just didn’t seem to have the breaks this year.”
That goal would be all the Hawks needed to win the match. St. Joseph’s dominated possession of the ball for most of the second half, keeping the Rams off their attack. Fordham tried everything to find an equalizer. The Rams very nearly did when, late in the second half. Senior Mike Stalker sent a cross into the box. Freshman Blake Bohlen and the St. Joseph’s goalkeeper both went up for the ball, and senior Taylor Gulbins was able to knock the deflection into the back of the net. The apparent goal was, however, waved off by the referee who called a foul on the Rams for contact with the St. Joseph’s keeper.
“I thought that was a questionable call,” McElderry said. “I thought that was a good goal that they called back and that was tough to take. Sometimes when things aren’t going your way you just don’t get those calls.”
The two losses marked a disappointing end to the Rams’ season. That the tough loss came on Senior Day was visibly rough for the Rams, but McElderry expressed pride in his graduates-to-be.
“They’re a really great group of guys, all different, from all different backgrounds,” McElderry said. “They’ll be a group that’s going to be missed for sure.”
