Published: October 25, 2007

The Fordham College at Lincoln Center soccer team played its way to a 2-2 draw on Oct. 14 against Gowanus Athletic at Bryant High School in Astoria, Queens.

Gowanus Athletic started the scoring off early with a cross pass that was headed in off the far post by the striker to make it 1-0.

Later in the first half, FCLC answered when Ricardo Bustos, FCLC ’08, fed a pass right to a wide-open Alex Sideris, FCLC ’09, who placed the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-1. The score would remain tied for the rest of the half.

At halftime, Sideris had some words for the team on how they could improve their play in order to get their first win of the season.

“If we pass sideline to sideline and create a linkage across the field with our passes, their defense is clueless and their goalie is horrible,” Sideris said. “We could score five goals at least!”

Co-captain Harry Bradford, FCLC’09, added, “We have to work on keeping the field wide and attacking the center of the field. Passing the ball back to a teammate when in danger is not a bad option. Let’s play with intensity!”

But the messages of either teammate did not get through to the members of FCLC until early in the second half.

Gowanus Athletic scored another goal on an offensive rush when a Gowanus player scored the rebound off a hard shot on FCLC goalkeeper Pat Wyllie, FCLC ’09.

Down 2-1, with only three minutes left in the game and pressure mounting on FCLC to score a goal, Joel Rowe, FCLC ’09, intercepted a pass and started running down the field, weaving his way through defenders before shooting the ball through the Gowanus goalie’s arms for the equalizer. Players embraced Rowe as he saved the team from defeat.

Rowe was the player of the game, not only for his game-tying goal but also due to his great intensity.  Throughout the game, he cleared balls out of the penalty area so Gowanus Athletic strikers could not score. Minutes before his goal, Rowe also hit a line drive shot that missed the net by mere inches.

“It was a thrill to score that goal, but most important, it was an incredible game for our entire team,” Rowe said.

FCLC maintained a one-point lead ahead of the last-place Gowanus Athletic in the league. A team receives one point for a draw and three for a win. Having played better over its last two games, FCLC now has two points.

The team has also moved up one position in the standings from eighth to seventh place. With only a few weeks left, the team needs to improve upon their position in order to avoid a difficult first-round playoff game.