Men’s Soccer Plays to 1-1 Draw at Fordham

Tuesday, September 15

Bronx, N.Y.

7 PM ET

Army West Point

1-3-1

Fordham

0-3-2

OT 3

OT 4

Army West Point

Fordham

Men’s Soccer Plays to 1-1 Draw at Fordham

September 15, 2015 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BRONX, N.Y. – The Army West Point men's soccer team used a late goal in regulation to pull even in an eventual 1-1 draw against Fordham on Tuesday evening at Jack Coffey Field. The Black Knights move to 1-3-1 with the tie, while the Rams go to 0-3-2.

"We grew up a little bit tonight," said Army head coach Russell Payne. "We created a goal-scoring opportunity for them and they capitalized on it, but we fought back and I'm proud of our guys that we grabbed that goal. It showed some maturity for us to fight to the finish. I didn't see any let down in our team and I'm encouraged by that, I think it will serve us well down the road."

The Rams threatened early in the match when Janos Loebe broke free down the left side of field and was all alone, but Black Knights' senior goalkeeper Chris Britt saved his angled shot in the 10th minute to keep the game level. Britt finished the game with two saves.

Sophomore Spencer Goldstein registered Army's first shot of the contest in the 12th minute, as his attempt from just outside the 18-yard box bounced once before being corralled by Fordham keeper Dan Miklos, who made five stops in the match.

Fordham found its way on the board in the 28th minute when Ryan Cupolo scored after a series of short passes inside Army's 18-yard box to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.

Army senior Alex Clark helped lead the Black Knights' back line in the first half, as he twice made sliding plays to prevent any further Fordham offense. Clark slid in to block a shot from the right side by Jannik Loebe in the 18th minute before poking away a cross from the left side of the field in the 41st minute.

Army junior Nick Williams created a dangerous scoring chance for the Black Knights in the 40th minute, as he dribbled around Miklos before a Fordham defender got in the way of his shot at a wide open net.

The Black Knights held possession in their attacking third for most of the first 20 minutes of the second half, sending in a pair of shots while holding the Rams without any real opportunities.

Junior Tanner Vosvick put a shot on goal from close range, but wasn't able to hit the ball cleanly, as Miklos came off his line to make a save in the 49th minute. Army created another scoring chance in the 57th minute, but sophomore Marcos Arroyo's shot went wide of the right post following a sustained bout of pressure by the Black Knights.

Britt was tested for the first time in the second half in the 67th minute after Fordham was awarded a free kick at the left corner of Army's 18-yard box and Gabe Stauber directed a shot on target that Britt saved to keep the visitors' deficit at 1-0.

Arroyo had a second opportunity for the Black Knights in the 81st minute, as he fired a shot from 10 yards out that was blocked by a group of Fordham defenders and trickled out of play. Army found the equalizer on the ensuing corner kick, as senior Tommy Jaeger sent the ball into the 18-yard box from the right corner flag before sophomore Shaban Abousaud headed home his second goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1 in the 82nd minute.

The Rams had shots in the 84th and 85th minutes, but both sailed wide of the Black Knights' net.

Williams got behind Fordham's defense and directed a shot on target in the 93rd minute of the first overtime period, but Miklos came out of his goal and made a sliding save to prevent the would-be game winner. Senior Cameron Niccum sent a header on goal with just seven seconds remaining in the first overtime and Miklos stopped the shot at the right post as time expired in the period.

Abousaud had the first shot of the second overtime period, but his attempt was blocked away in the 105th minute as the score remained 1-1.

The Rams nearly found the game-winning goal in the 106th minute when Janos Loebe sent a corner kick from the right side just in front of the Army goal before the ball glanced off of the inside of the crossbar and into Britt's hands.

Neither side recorded a shot on goal in the final stages of the period.

The Black Knights return to the field on Saturday when they host Fairleigh Dickinson. Kickoff at Clinton Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.

MATCH NOTES: The Army-Fordham series moves to 13-11-4, in favor of the Black Knights, following the draw … Tuesday's match marked the second consecutive time the Black Knights and Rams have played into double overtime after Army collected a 1-0 win over Fordham in the last meeting between the schools in 2013.