Published: April 30, 2009

The Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) soccer club moved into a tie for first place in the Bryant South division of the Metro Soccer N.Y. league with a win over Brooklyn FC on April 19. The 6-5 comeback victory over the co-owners of the number one ranking solidified the reputation of this year’s Lincoln Center team as one of the best in Fordham’s six-year club soccer history with a 5-2-0 record. Putting together the necessary ingredients to build a winning team is a process that began well before this spring, however.

“I think you have to attribute a lot of success to last season,” said forward and co-captain Harry Bradford, FCLC ’09. “While we weren’t as highly ranked we had a solid season and what’s been great is that we’ve been able to build on the fall season with pretty much the same squad. Just about everyone on this team at this point has been playing together for at least a few seasons which really helps chemistry and team unity.”

FCLC also seems to be playing with a newfound swagger, reflected in its defeat of Brooklyn FC, a team Fordham had never beaten.

“We didn’t panic when we were behind and the calls weren’t going our away,” said Richard Scott, FCLC ’11. “We hung in there, never gave up, and kept our composure like we’ve been doing all season. It really hit me that this team is for real and that we can play with anybody in the league.”

The mentality required to come from behind is also a new dimension of FCLC’s game. “

A lot of these wins we’ve pulled out sort of at the last minute, which is a change from past seasons,” said Bradford. “It used to be the opposite: a game was close and we’d give up the ghost in the last few minutes. We’ve found a real drive to stay and want to win the game for the full 50 minutes.”

While there is no question the team can play, there is a question of what comes next for FCLC. The team plays two regular season games after the last day of class, including a May 10 rematch against the Brooklyn squad. These final games have extra importance this season, since no Fordham team has ever been ranked so high this late in the spring.

“[Once] the semester ends, kids go home and there’s no team left,” Bradford said. “It’s a nagging concern… because right now in the season we’ve really got a shot at taking the whole thing, but that won’t happen if come May 10, May 17, there’s no team left. It’s then in the season that we really need to rely on players that live in the tri-state area to show up to games, even if they haven’t been so involved in the season to date.”

While attendance has always been an issue for FCLC teams, this year’s crew has relied on a core of dedicated players to show up week in and week out. FCLC even managed to win two games over spring break, a period when past teams have struggled with thin ranks. Fielding a team after finals is a different issue, though, and it will be a test of the team’s dedication to see if their success will continue into May.