Published: November 15, 2007

The Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) soccer team lost 4-0 on Nov. 4 to Goodfellas at Bryant High School in Astoria, Queens.

Goodfellas started the scoring early in the contest when the FCLC defense left a Goodfellas striker open at the top of the penalty area. The striker ripped a shot past goalkeeper Pat Wyllie, FCLC ’09, from 18 yards away to give Goodfellas the lead, 1-0. Wyllie was able to deflect a second attempt at a Goodfellas goal; however, later in the first half, a striker moved in on the goal and placed a high shot that Wyllie was able to get his fingertips on and send sailing over the goal.

FCLC had opportunities of its own to score in the first half but was unable to do so. After an Alex Sideris, FCLC ’09, free kick hit a Goodfellas defender, the ball popped back into the air and landed on the head of Harry Bradford, FCLC ’09, who shot it on goal.  But before the ball could cross the line, another Goodfellas defender cleared the ball out of danger.

Later in the first, Russ Martonis, FCLC ’07, got a rebound from a Bradford free kick, but Martonis could not get enough strength on the shot to put it in the net, as it was easily saved by the Goodfellas goalie.

At halftime, co-captain Bradford spoke about the missed scoring opportunities:  “Kick the ball with purpose!” Bradford said. “It is simple, but going hard on their defense will put high quality shots on goal. A few of those will find their way into the back of the net.”

Sideris recounted the reasons so many FCLC passes were not being handled. “Our team is too far apart from each other,” Sideris said. “We should not play long balls; the team must compress to make sure passes find their targets on the field.”

Despite the advice and encouraging words from teammates, FCLC fared little better in the game’s second half. A crossing pass found a wide open Goodfellas striker when the game resumed, and the score quickly became 3-0 in favor of the Goodfellas when their striker shot the ball off the left post.

That lead became 4-0 soon after, when a miscommunication between two FCLC defenders freed up a Goodfellas striker to take a shot that passed through the goalkeeper’s hands and into the back of the net.

FCLC’s best scoring chance came when Bradford took a shot from midfield that hit the top of the crossbar and bounced straight down, missing the goal line by just inches.

In a very physical contest between the teams, FCLC took out their frustrations on each other as well as the other team when scoring opportunities were missed. Play got out of hand in the second half when arguments broke out on the field with members of the Goodfellas over questionable foul calls. FCLC players also yelled at each other after the Goodfellas scored their final goal of the game.

“How could we bring our best every Sunday when, instead of only playing against the opposing team, we’re also playing against each other?” asked Ricardo Bustos, FCLC ’08, FCLC’s player of the game. “These outbursts are basically a result of bottled up emotions that could easily be replaced with constructive criticism.”

Bustos arrived an hour before game time to practice his skills after not having played for three weeks. He was one of the team’s few players who showed restraint on the field after being fouled, choosing to walk away from the opposing player instead of starting a fight. He played hard, made solid tackles and showed his creativity with the ball as he moved nicely in between defenders.

FCLC is still winless on the year.  With the loss, the team dropped to 0-7-2 on the season and is near the bottom of the league in seventh place in the standings.