Men's Soccer Kicks Off 2015 Season at Home

Friday is opening night for the Fordham men's soccer team, as the Rams begin defense of their Atlantic 10 crown at Jack Coffey Field by hosting Boston University at 7:00 PM.

LIVE COVERAGE: Live Video (Atlantic 10 Network) | Live Stats | Twitter Updates on @FordhamSoccer

SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Terriers have met only twice all-time with Boston University winning both match-ups.  The first meeting came in 2007 with the Terriers grabbing a 4-0, while the second meeting came in last year's opener in Boston.  The Terriers won that match as well, scoring a goal with less than a second left in overtime for a 1-0 win.

LAST TIME OUT: The Fordham men's soccer team wrapped up its preseason schedule on Sunday at Jack Coffey Field with a 4-0 win  against LIU Post.

Fordham wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Janos Loebe scored on a free kick from 25 yards out to the upper right corner of the net in the fifth minute.

Then at the start of the second half, a Fordham player was taken down in the box for a penalty kick.  Jannik Loebe converted on the penalty kick into the right side of the net for a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute.

The Rams then put together a pair of nice passing plays in the 53rd and 61st minute to extend the lead to 4-0.  Janos Loebe put a lead pass to Kyle Bitterman down the left side of the box to start the play.  Bitterman then crossed the ball back to Loebe, who tucked it into the right side of the net.  Loebe then completed the hat trick in the 61st minute, once again off a pass from Bitterman.
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES: The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason predictions and All-Conference Teams today, as voted on by the league's coaches.  Fordham, the defending Atlantic 10 champion, was picked seventh in the preseason poll, while fifth-year senior Andres Penfold (Scarsdale, N.Y.) was named to the preseason All-Conference Team.

Saint Louis was picked as the preseason favorite, earning seven first place votes, followed by Rhode Island, George Mason, VCU, Davidson, Dayton, Fordham, Duquesne, La Salle, George Washington, Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts and St. Bonaventure.

Fordham won its second-ever Atlantic 10 title last season, entering the Championship as the sixth seed.  The Rams then went on to knock off the #1, 2, and 3 seeds, en route to the league title and a berth in the NCAA Championship.

Penfold was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection last year, after leading Fordham in scoring with seven goals and 16 points.  Both totals were the most by a Ram since Brian Borrhello in 2002.  He also had a team-best four game-winning goals.

WHO'S NEXT: The Fordham men's soccer team will next be in action on September 4th at Loyola-Chicago.