By Tyler Freire
Ole Sandnes and the Rams put up a tough fight against the Boston College Eagles. (Andrea Garcia/The Fordham Ram).
After an exhilarating run to the Atlantic 10 title, the Fordham men’s soccer team was forced to switch gears as the Rams traveled to Newton, Massachusetts to face Boston College in round one of the NCAA Tournament.
Boston College put the pressure on the Rams from the opening kick, getting off four shots on goal during the first 11 minutes of action. However, every one of those chances was denied by Fordham’s sophomore goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu, who went on to have a career day in net.
The Eagles threatened again in the 29th minute on a shot from the top of the box to the right side by Isaac Normesinu, but Nuhu read the shot perfectly with a diving stop for his fifth save of the game.
Fordham had a scoring chance late in the first half on a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Janos Loebe. He found freshman defender Joergen Oland for a header attempt that went just left of goal. Heading into halftime, the game was still scoreless.
Nuhu continued his stellar performance in the second half, making a save to the lower left side in the 47th minute and palming away a shot to the upper right corner in the 60th minute.
Fordham had its opportunities to break the tie. In the 53rd minute, junior midfielder Jannik Loebe cut across the box for a shot but was thwarted by Boston College goalkeeper Cedric Saladin. Later, freshman midfielder Tim Steuk found classmate Bart Dziedzic for a quick shot on the right side of the box that was also saved by the keeper in the 78th minute.
The tie was finally broken in the 82nd minute as the Eagles’ Simon Engstrom slipped a pass from the end line to Zeiko Lewis, who netted his seventh goal of the season. However, with plenty of time still remaining in the game, the Rams continued to fight until the final whistle.
The Rams almost tied the game just a minute later on a scramble in front of the Boston College net. Janos Loebe took the corner kick from the near side and deftly placed it in front of the net as freshman forward Dantae Greer and junior midfielder Eric Ohlendorf were there waiting for a chance.
Ohlendorf put a head on it toward the open goal, but an Eagle defender knocked it off course to keep Boston College in the lead. Janos Loebe and senior midfielder Ole Sandnes also had shots over the final minutes, but neither found the net. The Eagles went on to close it out, serving the Rams a 1-0 loss in the first round and eliminating them from the NCAA Tournament.
In net, Nuhu made a career-high 10 saves in an outstanding effort by the sophomore keeper. In all, head coach Jim McElderry was pleased with his team’s performance.
“We were very happy to win the A-10 Championship,” he said. “I felt the team could compete with anyone in the country. We were hoping to make a run in the tournament, but the BC game was the fourth game in eight days. We had some chances to win the game, but eventually fatigue made a difference.”
Fatigue was certainly a factor, as the Rams put up just seven shots in the game, well below the team average of 13.6. They would have stood a great chance at victory if their offense had been operating at its normal capacity.
“Losing is always tough as we all put our heart and soul into the team,” said McElderry. “The most disappointing part is the season is over and we are losing two fantastic seniors in [defender] Andy Hickey and Ole Sandnes. That is the hardest part. But I am happy that our two seniors has played in two NCAA tournaments and won two championships.”
Throughout the year, the Rams proved to have excellent chemistry on and off the field and had a genuine love for the sport of soccer. McElderry echoed this sentiment as he looked ahead to next year.
“We have a great group of guys. This year has not been easy, but it has been a lot of fun,” he said. “The group competes hard but also enjoys being around one another off the field. I will miss this team as we have had some wonderful times. I expect our returning players to continue to raise our standards and continue to put Fordham on the national scene. We will be strong again next year because we have good leadership and a desire to compete.”
The Rams finished the 2016 season with a 10-7-4 overall record and a conference championship, but with McElderry at the helm, it seems the sky is the limit for this Fordham team.
