NSCAA Final Mid-Atlantic Regional Poll - November 10, 2015 For the sixth and final time this season, the Fordham women's soccer team earned a spot in the NSCAA Division I Women's Soccer Regional Rankings, following their run to the Atlantic 10 Championship gam, it was released on Tuesday. The Rams ranked #10 in Mid-Atlantic Region in the final poll of the season.
Fordham finished an impressive season at 13-7-2 overall with a 6-3-1 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Rams earned the fifth seed at the Atlantic 10 Championship, after being picked to finish 11
th in the preseason coaches' poll. The Rams proved that preseason predictions don't mean much, as Fordham defeated VCU in the quarterfinals and advanced past George Mason on a penalty kick shootout in the semifinals to reach their third-ever Atlantic 10 title game.
The Rams' 13 wins this season were the second-most in program history, just one shy of the 2006 team record, but Fordham did set the team record for shutouts in a season with 11 and almost set the goal against average record with a 0.85 team mark, falling 0.01 shy of the 0.84 record, set in 2007.
Jessica Widmann Individually, a total of six Rams earned awards for their efforts this season, led by midfielder
Jessica Widmann, who was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 and CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District selection, after setting career-highs with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. The 12 goals and 29 points tied for the third-most by a Ram in a single season, while for her career, Widmann finished sixth in career goals (19) and points (52), while she is tied for first in career starts (75) and second in career assists (14). She was also named to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team for her efforts in the Championship tournament.
Three Rams were named Second Team All-Atlantic 10, as fifth-year senior
Kristina Maksuti and juniors
Nicole Bates and
Ally Doyle enjoyed fantastic seasons. Maksuti battled back from two years away from soccer to finish second on the team in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points, which included five game-winning goals. Bates and Doyle were a part of the Rams' stingy defense that held opponents to less than a goal per game and no goals in a team record 11 contests. Bates also earned Academic All-Atlantic 10 honors for her work in the classroom and was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team for her efforts in the conference tournament.
A third member of the defensive core, junior
Brianna Blunck, was also selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship team. After netting her first career goal in the season finale against George Mason, she played a huge part in the Rams' semifinal game, once again against George Mason. She, along with Bates and Doyle, converted on the first three penalty kicks in the shootout to put Fordham in control and eventually advance to the title game.
Brianna Blunck Freshman
Brooke Salmon was the final award winner this season, as she was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. She played in all 22 games as a freshman, starting 20. In the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals, she scored her first career goal in the 15
th minute, which ended up being the game-winning marker against VCU.
In addition to the award winners, one other player made her mark in the Fordham record book, as junior
Megan Fitzgerald solidified herself as the Rams' #1 netminder. She set single season goalkeeper records for minutes play (1885), wins (12), and shutouts (9), while recording the second lowest goals against average at 0.91.
Princeton rated as the top-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic region's final poll, followed by James Madison, Hofstra, Boston University, William & Mary, George Washington, UNC-Wilmington, Duquesne, Bucknell, and Fordham.
