After being down 2-0, the Massachusetts men’s soccer team scored three unanswered goals, two of which came in the final two minutes and 33 seconds of the game to escape the Bronx with its first Atlantic 10 win of the season against Fordham University, 3-2.
As the clock ticked below one minute remaining in the second half, the final tie-breaking score for the Minutemen (5-2-2, 1-1-0 A-10) came when Rams (3-3-3, 0-1-1 A-10) defender Owen Hardy attempted to clear the ball out of UMass’ attacking zone. From the clear, graduate student Johan Feilscher scored his second goal of the season after kicking the ball from the penalty area, cementing a come from behind win for the Minutemen.
Fordham started strong as Ede Gramberg broke the ice within the first five minutes of the game. Daniel D’Ippolito then scored his sixth goal of the season, finding the bottom corner of the net in the 22nd minute of the game, expanding the lead to 2-0 and giving the Rams momentum.
While trailing 2-0, concerns for UMass continued as star forward Alec Hughes went down with a knee to the hip with 11 minutes to go in the first half. The injury came off a challenge collision with Fordham’s Owen Hardy. Hughes did not return for the rest of the game. Hardy received a yellow card from another collision during the 23rd minute of the first half.
As the first half showed very little light on a rainy night in the Bronx, the Minutemen had very few offensive opportunities and struggled to slow down Fordham’s momentum. The Minutemen had eight fouls, doubling the Rams’ amount and had three shot opportunities. Fordham goalkeeper Leo Perelman had one save during the first half off a shot by Feilscher to the bottom corner.
The Minutemen didn’t give up and their gameplay was different during the second half. In the 68th minute, graduate student Oliver Akintade found his first goal of the season with a screamer strike, cutting down the Rams lead to 2-1. This was followed by a goal from Alex Brown with five minutes left in the game, his first goal since 2022.
The Rams two goals came off four shots on goals throughout the game as UMass’ defense limited them to one shot during the second half. The offense was just as strong for the Minutemen as they put up 13 shots and three goals during that same time period.
The opportunities for the team continued as they had four corner kicks and reduced the number of fouls allowed compared to the first half. UMass went from seven fouls in the first half to one foul in the second which was a yellow card by Feilscher.
UMass’ next matchup will be on Tuesday, Oct. 1 as it continues its travel on the road to Burlington to take on the University of Vermont. The match is set to start at 6 p.m.
Jonathan Murgida can be reached at [email protected] and followed on twitter @jonathanmurgida.
