PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Oct. 31, 2026) – The Thomas Jefferson University men's soccer team battled through 110 minutes of an emotional, physical affair in Saturday's CACC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup at Ravenhill Field. The Rams took on Post University and played to a 2-2 draw before falling 5-4 in a six-round penalty shootout.
Saturday's game had it all with nary a dull moment over the 110 minutes of action. Senior Cole McEvoy (Gap, Pa. / Pequea Valley / Loyola University Maryland) brought Jefferson level in the 11th minute, scoring off an assist from sophomore Brandon Murataj (Abington, Pa. / Abington). Senior Mohamed Elhendawy (Alexandria, Egypt / West Chester Rustin) then put the Rams ahead at 18:36, finishing a feed from sophomore Gavin Dunlop (Oreland, Pa. / Father Judge) for a 2-1 advantage.
Jefferson carried that lead into halftime after holding a 4-2 edge in shots over the opening 45 minutes. McEvoy finished with a team-high three attempts, while Murataj and senior Miles Hood (Newark, Del. / Caravel Academy) added two apiece. Both of Hood's shots were on target. However, Jefferson would need to hold the lead for another 45 minutes if they were to advance to another CACC Tournament home tilt, and a game Post University team ultimately tied the game and even had the go-ahead goal with five minutes to go before a retroactive offensive foul call pulled the goal off the scoreboard. From there, neither team was able to get an edge on the other, triggering a tightly-contested penalty shootout to determine the advancing team.
Sophomore JR Sexton (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada / St. Mary's Kitchener) recorded eight saves, including five across two scoreless overtime periods to send the match to penalties. McEvoy, Elhendawy, senior Lesedi Hlbeli (Midrand, South Africa / Reddford House Blue Hills) and Dunlop converted Jefferson's first four attempts in the shootout.
Head Coach Jason Rocha and the Rams will have plenty to look back on when it comes to the 2026 season. The young Rams squad improved to second over the CACC regular season and are set to return almost the entirety of their core both defensively and in the midfield. With the success of 2026 to build on, the Rams could be set up to remain a CACC force in 2027.
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