The Fordham women's soccer team looks to continue its solid start to Atlantic 10 play with a Thursday night match-up against the Saint Louis Billikens at Jack Coffey Field.
The game will feature an intriguing match-up as it will pit the top defense in the Atlantic 10 against the top offense. Fordham currently leads the Atlantic 10 in goals against average at 0.84 and shutouts (7), while Billikens have scored a league-high 29 goals and have a 2.23 goals per game average.
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Twitter Updates @FordhamWSoccer SERIES HISTORY: Despite being conference opponents since 2006, the Rams and Billikens have only met five previous times with Saint Louis holding a 3-2 series edge. The two teams met last season in St. Louis with the Billikens taking a 2-0 decision, but the most memorable previous meeting came in 2006, when the Rams and Billikens faced off the Atlantic 10 title. Fordham scored first in that game, but the Billikens netted two second half goals to win the championship.
RAMS RANK #10 IN LATEST NSCAA MID-ATLANTIC POLL: For the fifth time in the last six weeks, the Fordham women's soccer team is in the NSCAA Division I Women's Soccer Regional Rankings after a split of games last week. The Rams are currently #10 in Mid-Atlantic Region this week.
Princeton rates as the top-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic region, followed by Northeastern, Hofstra, William & Mary, James Madison, UNC-Wilmington, George Washington, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Fordham.
Jessica Widmann MOVIN' UP: Fordham's
Kristina Maksuti and
Jessica Widmann have slowly climbed the all-time leaders at Rose Hill in goals, assists, and points this season. With an assist in her last game, Maksuti is now fifth in career points at Fordham with 53, sixth in goals (21), and tied for ninth in assists (11), while with a goal and an assist on Sunday, Widmann is now tied for eighth all-time in goals (17), tied for sixth in assists (12), and eighth in points (46). The goal on Sunday for Widmann was also her tenth of the season, making her the first Ram to reach 10 goals in a season since Kim Boulos in 2008.
LAST TIME OUT: The Fordham women's soccer squad bounced back in fine style from Thursday's overtime loss to VCU, topping the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 2-1, on Cancer Awareness Day at Jack Coffey Field.
After a scoreless first half, Fordham opened the scoring in the 59
th minute.
Caitlin Leen started the play as she fought through multiple defenders in front of the Fordham bench, and sent a through ball to
Jessica Widmann. Widmann crossed the through ball to
Carlie Wagner in front of the net, where she connected on a shot off the crossbar and just over the goal line for her third goal of the season.
The Rams extended the lead to 2-0 in the 71
st minute, when Widmann was sent on a breakaway off a
Kristina Maksuti through ball. Widmann made one move around the goalkeeper and scored into the empty net for her team-leading tenth goal of the season. She is the first Ram to score ten goals in a season since Kim Boulos in 2008.
St. Bonaventure would break-up the Fordham shutout in the 90
th minute on a penalty kick goal by Abby Maiello, but that is as close as the game got with the Rams taking the 2-1 victory.
In goal,
Megan Fitzgerald made one save for Fordham, while Beth Moore had six saves for the Bonnies.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams are next in action on Sunday, October 18
th, when Fordham travels to Dayton for a 1:00 PM match against the Flyers.
