Published: September 23, 2010

GOAL!!!—a term heard early and often during Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) Soccer Club’s first match of the year, and one they hope to hear throughout the season.

The FCLC team began their season in the Metro Soccer League with a 3-0 win over the Destroyers at Bryant High School. Fordham dictated the pace throughout much of the game and were never really threatened by the Destroyers.

Team Captain Joseph Carnevale, FCLC ’11, thought very highly of the team even before their great showing against the Destroyers. When asked about his expectations for this season, Carnevale quickly replied, “We’re going to win it all.”

The FCLC Soccer Club has been very successful over the past two seasons in the league, going undefeated both years. However, the team has been denied a shot at the playoffs both times because they tied in their division’s Championship Match. When the division championship match ends in a tie, the game does not go to a shoot-out. Instead, the team with the greater season goal differential is chosen as the winner. “We’re going to score a lot this season to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” Carnevale said.

The captain feels a strong point this season is the team’s dynamic. “The team has a good balance. We have good, strong veterans and young talent. The freshmen this year seem pretty good.” He also joked, “The freshmen don’t have years of college bringing them down.”

The team really pressed the pace early against the Destroyers. They out-hustled their opponents and the difference in skill level was apparent. The time of possession and shots on goal were heavily in Fordham’s favor. However, despite many early shots on goal, the Destroyers’ goalie made good saves.

Fordham finally broke through following a corner kick by Carnevale. Hussein Sayed, FCLC ’11, fielded the kick and shot it past the diving goalie on the right-hand side. The goal created momentum for the team, as a few minutes later the same combination of players scored again. Carnevale passed it to Sayed, who was coming down the right side of the field. Sayed shot it past the diving goalie to his right to make the score 2-0.

“It’s the first game of the season and I felt like we had something to prove, especially after the way last season ended,” Sayed said. When asked about his two goals, Sayed said, “They were instinctive; I didn’t even think about it.”

The scored remained 2-0 until after halftime. In the second half of the game, the Destroyers got the ball on Fordham’s side of the field more often. However, Fordham played great team defense and hardly allowed any shots on goal. Misha Kollontai, FCLC ’11, showed exemplary defense by constantly causing turnovers and clearing the ball.

Fordham scored once more late in the game to make the score 3-0. Steven Rey, FCLC ’11, passed it to Alex Sideris, FCLC ’11, who scored on a diving header. Sideris said, “It felt nice. I haven’t played in a while and to score on a diving header was awesome.”

Sideris added he felt this team was very motivated. “On this team people come to win. In the past we had some people come to just kick around a ball. This team is a lot more organized.”

Sayed, the team’s goalie, added, “We haven’t practiced too many times and still looked good.”

Carnevale said the win felt “triumphant.” Looking forward to the team’s next game, Carnevale said, “We have to work on our passing and learn not to go forward straight to the goal. We have to turn around and look for who’s open. The team needs more fluid movement and more unity.” However, he felt the reason for this was “rust from the summer” and soon the team will be clicking on all levels.