ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis scored three second-half goals to hand Fordham its first Atlantic 10 Conference loss, 4-1, Friday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Sophomore Alex Johnston tallied the game winner early in the second frame, while sophomore Mike Roach added two insurance markers to increase his team-leading goals total to seven.
The Billikens (8-5-0, 3-1-0 A-10), who move into a tie for second in the league standings with the win, return to action Sunday when they face La Salle (4-8-3, 0-3-2) in a 1 p.m. kick at Hermann Stadium. Senior Day festivities will begin at approximately 12:50 p.m. Fordham ends its six-game unbeaten streak and dips to 7-6-1 overall and 4-1-0 in A-10 play.
"I'm happy to get this result against a tough, scrappy and good defensive team," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "Fordham frustrated us a bit in the first half, but fortunately for us it came together and we were able to finish off some plays in the second half. Overall, very happy with our play, but a different bounce here or you don't complete a play there, you are all the sudden in a tightly contested game. We know those little mistakes could get us in the future, so we are always focusing on cleaning those up and better managing games."
Senior James Dice, who along with seven other seniors will be honored as part of Senior Day activities Sunday prior to the La Salle match, put the Billikens on the board with his first career goal. Senior Tim Ream initiated the play with a rocket off a 28-yard free kick. The ball glanced off the Fordham wall, then ricocheted off the underside of the cross bar. Dice was in perfect position to gather the rebound, and he buried the ball with a defender on his back for a 1-0 Billiken advantage.
Dice's goal came several minutes after the Billikens had a goal erased from the scoreboard following an off-sides call. Senior James Jaramillo gathered a rebound off an Alex Sweetin shot and fired into the far netting, but the referee immediately whistled the play off-sides.
Fordham equalized in the 27th minute on a goal by John Niyonsaba. Matt Courtenay began the play with a run up the right flank, and he crossed the ball inside for Niyonsaba who put it past SLU keeper Ross Kaufman to knot the score at one-all.
That remained the score at halftime, with the Bills leading 8-5 in shots and holding a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
SLU came out of the gates quickly in the second half, building a 3-1 lead with a pair of strikes in the first seven minutes of the half.
Sophomore Stephen Bortolon on the left side. Racing up the left flank, Bortolon found Johnston across the box toward the far post. Johnston fired inside the opposite post for the SLU go-ahead goal, giving the Billikens a 2-1 lead.
Several minutes later, Roach made it 3-1 after scoring his first goal since missing five games due to injury. He brought the ball into the box and after generating an open look, Roach fired from roughly 12 yards into the far-side netting to pad the Billikens' lead.
Roach notched a penalty kick in the 89th minute for the final 4-1 Billiken victory.
Kaufman made three saves in goal, while his Fordham counterpart Ryan Meara stopped three Billiken chances. Overall, the Billikens out-shot the Rams 15-11 and owned an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.
