Men’s Soccer Opens 2017 at John Rennie Nike Invitational

The Fordham men's soccer team begins defense of its Atlantic 10 Championship this weekend in Durham, North Carolina, as the Rams take part in the annual John Rennie Nike Invitational, hosted by Duke University.  Fordham opens the Invitational against Elon on Friday at 5:00 PM, followed by a 2:00 PM Sunday showdown with Duke.  Both contests will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and can be watched on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – Fordham vs. Elon – 5:00 PM – Live Stats | Live Video (ACC Network Extra/ESPN3/WatchESPNApp) | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
Sunday – Fordham at Duke – 2:30 PM – Live Stats | Live Video (ACC Network Extra/ESPN3/WatchESPNApp) | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first-ever meeting between Fordham and Elon, while being the second between Fordham and Duke.  The lone previous meeting between the Rams and Blue Devils was the 1989 season opener, where Duke won a 2-1 contest at the Wolfpack Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
SEASON OPENERS: Since re-emergence of the Fordham men's soccer program in 1968, Fordham is 19-25-5 all-time in season openers.  The last season-opening win for the Rams was in 2011, a 1-0 victory over Lehigh.

TEAM CAPTAINS: The senior trio of Matthew Lewis, Jannik Loebe, and Christopher Bazzini will serve as the team captains for the 2017 season.
 
PRESEASON POLL & AWARDS: With the regular season starting this weekend, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced its men's soccer preseason poll and All-Conference team on Thursday.
 
Fordham, which won the Atlantic 10 Championship in 2014 and 2016, was picked to finish first, just ahead of Saint Louis and VCU.  The Rams received eight first place votes and 162 points, followed by the Billikens with 153 points and two first place votes, and VCU with three first place votes and 147 points. 
 
Dayton was picked fourth (122), followed by Rhode Island (5^th – 105), George Washington (6^th – 94), Duquesne (7^th – 90), Massachusetts (8^th – 72), La Salle (9^th – 70), Davidson (10^th – 57), George Mason (11^th – 43), Saint Joseph's (12^th – 35), and St. Bonaventure (13^th – 33).

 
The Atlantic 10 Championship will be held from November 5^th through 12^th, as it will be split between campus sites for the quarterfinal match-ups, followed by the semifinals and final at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.
 
In addition to being picked first, the Rams also had a conference-best five players named to the preseason All-Conference Team.  Seniors Jannik Loebe (Kierpse, Germany) and Matthew Lewis (Kansas City, Mo.), along with juniors Janos Loebe (Kierspe, Germany) and Rashid Nuhu (Accra, Ghana) and sophomore Joergen Oland (Drammen, Norway).
 
All five players earned Atlantic 10 honors a year ago, helping Fordham to the Atlantic 10 Championship.  The Loebe brothers were both First Team All-Atlantic 10 selections in 2016 with Janos receiving the Conference's Offensive Player of the Year Award.  He tied for the team lead in goals (7), assists (6), and points (20) with his brother, Jannik.  Both were selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team, as well as to the NSCAA All-Midwest Region Team with Janos earning Second Team honors and Jannik getting Third Team accolades.
 
Lewis and Nuhu were both Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selections a year ago.  For Lewis, it was the second consecutive year that he was a Second Team selection after starting all 21 games on the Rams' backline.  He helped Fordham record a 0.85 team goals against average, while on the offensive end he had a career-high three goals.  Nuhu, an NSCAA Second Team All-Midwest Region pick, set career-best marks in 2016 in goals against average (0.75), save percentage (.819), shutouts (7), and minutes played (1805).  In the Atlantic 10 Championship, Nuhu was named the Most Outstanding Player of the championship, posting three shutouts and recorded three saves in the penalty kick shootout of the title match.
 
Oland was a member of the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team last season, after a superb inaugural campaign on the Rams' backline.  He started all 21 games as a freshman, and led the Rams in minutes played with 1,954.  He also posted a goal and two assists on the offensive end.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Following this weekend's action, Fordham remains on the road next week with a pair of local match-ups.  The Rams are at St. John's on Friday, September 1^st for a 7:30 PM start, followed by a Labor Day showdown at Columbia on Monday, September 4^th, starting at 4:00 PM.