Dayton, Ohio – After defeating 25
th-ranked UMass on Wednesday in the team's regular season finale, the Fordham men's soccer team moves into postseason mode on Saturday, when the fifth-seeded Rams open the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship at fourth-seeded Dayton in the opening round of action at Baujan Field.
Fordham (11-4-2, 5-2-1 A10) enters the championship having won four of its last five contests, which included a 3-2 win at #25 UMass on Wednesday, handing the Minutemen their first home loss of the season. The Rams, who were picked as the preseason favorite, are looking for their third Atlantic 10 Championship in the last four seasons and fourth overall, having won the title in 1996, 2014, and 2016. Fordham, which is making its fourth consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship appearance, will look for the 12
th win on Saturday, which would be the first time the Rams have reached that mark since 1998.
Dayton (9-7-2, 6-2-0 A10) finished the season tied for second in the conference standings, but due to tiebreakers, ended up as the #4 seed and a host site for the conference quarterfinals. The Flyers bring a potent offense to the pitch on Saturday night, ranking fifth in the nation in shots per game, eighth in shots on goal per game, and ninth in most goals with 37. A player to watch for Dayton is sophomore Rok Taneski, who is coming off a career outing with a hat trick versus George Mason and is tied for the league lead in scoring with 10 goals to go with six assists.
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SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 20
th all-time meeting between the Rams and the Flyers with Dayton holding an 11-6-2 edge. Fordham is 3-1-2 over the last six meetings between the two clubs, however the one loss, a 2-1 decision, came last year at Baujan Field.
RAMS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: As of November 2
nd, the Rams rank in the top 30 nationally in shutout percentage (7
th), save percentage (11
th), goals against average (14
th), and overall winning percentage (26
th). Individually,
Janos Loebe and
Rashid Nuhu are among the top 30 nationally in seven categories. Loebe is currently 10
th in game-winning goals (4), 12
th in total assists (8), 24
th in shots per game (3.41), and 30
th in assists per game (0.47), while Nuhu is second in shutouts (10), 15
th in goals against average (0.631), and 15
th in save percentage (.831).
RPI RANKINGS: As of the last RPI report released by the NCAA, the Atlantic 10 conference has five teams in the top 50. VCU has the highest rating at 15
th, followed by Massachusetts at #27, Fordham at #34, Rhode Island at #35, and Saint Louis at #43.
UNITED SOCCER COACHES REGIONAL RANKINGS: As of the last regional ranking on October 31
st, three Atlantic 10 squad are among the top 10 in the Midwest Region. VCU is fourth, holding a national ranking of #22, followed by Massachusetts in fifth with a #25 national ranking. Fordham is the third Atlantic 10 squad in the rankings, holding down the tenth position.
IRON MEN: Fordham soccer's trio of captains for the 2017 season,
Matthew Lewis,
Matthew Lewis
Jannik Loebe, and
Christopher Bazzini, have been true iron men over the last four seasons, helping the Rams to a pair of Atlantic 10 Championships, while with their other six senior teammates became the first Fordham class to reach the Atlantic 10 Championship four straight seasons.
Lewis, a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, headlines the Fordham backline, having started all 78 games over the last four seasons, setting a new school record by passing the 77 by John Wolyniec (1995-98) and John Rollins (1982-85). He has played a whopping 7,257 minutes out of a possible 7,376.
Loebe, a two-time All-Atlantic 10 and three-time All-Championship Team selection, continues to rise up the all-time list at Fordham. He currently stands tied for eighth in goals (21), tied for 11
th in assists (12), 10
th in points (54), and tied for fifth in games played (76) and games started (74).
Though he was limited to 12 games this season due to injury, Bazzini has set career-highs in goals (3) and points (7) from his defender position. He was credited with the game-winning goal in the win over #25 UMass on Wednesday, appearing in his 68
th career game with 63 starts.
LAST TIME OUT: Behind a pair of second half goals and eight saves from Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu, the Fordham men's soccer team upset #25 UMass, 3-2, in the Atlantic 10 regular season finale at Rudd Field in Amherst, Massachusetts. The win for Fordham was its first over a ranked opponent since 2015, when the Rams topped then-#21 Columbia. The game was also UMass' first loss at home all season.
The offensive explosion in this contest started right away in the ninth minute, as the Minutemen took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Alex DeSantis, his sixth of the season off a corner kick. Fordham quickly answered with a goal in the 14
th minute to knot the game at one.
Janos Loebe put on a dribbling exhibition to the left side of the box, and pulled off a shot across his body, that beat the goalkeeper to the right side of the net from 20 yards. It was Loebe's team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The score remained tied at one until the 55
th minute, when Fordham took a 2-1 lead.
Jannik Loebe took a corner kick from the left side, which found
Owen Lawrence in the box. Lawrence headed the ball toward the front of the net, where
Joergen Oland headed the ball over the goalkeeper for his third goal of the season. UMass then went on the attack in the 63
rd minute, as DeSantis and Mike Rita both came up firing, but each was denied by diving stops from Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu.
The Rams then picked up a two-goal lead at 3-1 in the 69
th minute on another set piece.
Janos Loebe laid a corner kick near the six-yard box, which
Christopher Bazzini hammered a header into the right side of the net for his third marker of the year. The Minutemen were not finished, closing within one at 3-2 with under 18 minutes left. Jack Fulton scored on a free kick into the upper right corner of the net from 25 yards out for his third of the year.
Both teams had chances to add more goals to the score, but the team defenses and goalkeepers kept the score at 3-2 for the final margin. In net, Nuhu finished with a season-high eight saves, while UMass' Bardia Asefnia had three.
WHO'S NEXT: If the Rams win on Saturday, the Rams will return to Dayton's Baujan Field for the semifinals and final of the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship. Fordham would face the winner of the UMass-Saint Louis in the first semifinal at 4:30 PM on Friday, November 10
th, followed by the second semifinal match, which begins at 7:00 pm, and will feature the winners of VCU/St. Bonaventure and George Washington/Rhode Island. The championship final will be played on Sunday, November 12
th at noon.