BRONX, N.Y. – The Saint Joseph's men's soccer team suffered heartbreak on Saturday evening, falling to No. 2 Fordham in penalties as the Hawks bowed out of the Atlantic 10 Championship in the quarterfinals.
 
REGULATION/OVERTIME

• Finn Murray recorded the first shot of the game for Saint Joseph's (6-7-5, 3-2-3 A-10). The freshman picked up the ball 40 yards from goal and took two touches before firing a low-driven shot just wide of the post.
• Jennings made his only save of the first half in the 35th. Fordham (8-5-4, 5-1-2 A-10) nearly found the opener on both sides of the save with a shot that rattled off the post and one off the crossbar.
• In the second half, a wayward cross turned into a dangerous opportunity as Murray curled the ball onto the frame of the goal and off the crossbar. The ball came out to the top of the box, where Matteo Mazzotta's effort was deflected just over the bar for a Hawk corner kick. Mazzotta's corner found the head of Tommaso Rossetto who flashed across the front post and directed his attempt just wide of the frame.
• The Rams took their turn at searching for the equalizer, forcing Jennings into two more saves near the hour mark. The St. Joe's goalkeeper matched both attempts to keep the game level.
• Rossetto forced the Fordham goalkeeper into a save in the 76th but was denied as the game remained nervy and tense headed into the final 15 minutes.
• After Jennings cleanly saved an effort in the 87th, Jake Ross was able to get the last chance of regular time before his shot was turned away with just over a minute remaining.
• Each team registered one shot in the two 10-minute overtime periods, both proving harmless as a penalty shootout loomed to decide who advanced to the next round.

 
PENALTY SHOOTOUT

• Luke Johnson took the first penalty for the Hawks, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to open the scoring. Jennings made a save to deny the Rams and give St. Joe's a 1-0 advantage.
• Both Kobe Perlaza and Rossetto cleanly converted their attempts. Fordham responded by tucking away both of its attempts and the Hawks held a 3-2 advantage after three attempts.
• In the fourth round, the Hawks sent their attempt wide. On the other end, Jennings was inches away from his second save of the shootout after the ball deflected off his fingertips into the net to level the score at 3-3.
• Murray showed poise as the freshman buried his effort to the goalkeeper's right, giving no chance at making a save. The hosts matched with a score of their own as the game went into sudden death.
• Tristan Stephani made his first save of the shootout by diving low to his left, and the Rams gained the advantage. Fordham sent its final attempt past the outstretched arms of Jennings and into the back of the net to earn a spot in the next round of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The teams combined for 38 shots (24-14 in favor of Fordham) and the hosts held a 5-3 margin in shots on goal.
• Murray led the Hawks with five shots on the evening.
• Seven Hawks played the full 110 minutes.
• St. Joe's kept its fifth clean sheet of the season.
• Jennings made five saves in the shutout.
• The Hawks earned their third postseason trip since 1994, doing so in head coach Tim Mulqueen's first year in charge.

 
QUOTES FROM COACH MULQUEEN
"My heart breaks for our seniors," said Coach Mulqueen. "But I am incredibly proud of these men. They've showed the resilience and character that we want this team to define and they've poured their hearts into building a foundation for this program this past year."
 
"The game is unforgiving. These boys worked their tails off and the effort they showed tonight was everything you want as a coach. But that's part of the game, sometimes you need a little bit of luck and unfortunately tonight that didn't fall our way."