Aug. 22, 2009
Bronx, N.Y. -
The 17th varsity season of Fordham women's soccer opens on Sunday at 1:00 PM as they take on the Maryland Terrapins at Jack Coffey Field.
This is the first time that Fordham will host an ACC opponent in team history, while overall the Rams are 0-4 all-time against the ACC. The Rams and Terrapins have met once before in the 2002 season opener, when Maryland took a 5-0 decision from Fordham.
Maryland opened their season on Friday night at Army, where they took a 3-0 decision behind three second half goals. Ashley Grove, Jasmyne Spencer, and Caitlin Money each scored for Maryland.
Game Coverage: Follow the game on GameTracker
Preseason Rankings: In the Atlantic 10 coaches' preseason poll, Fordham was selected to finish fourth in the standings.
Preseason Accolades: The Atlantic 10 Conference announced the 2009 Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference and All-Rookie teams with the Rams having two players selected, senior Lauren Bustos and junior Katie McDermott, to the Preseason All-Conference team.
Bustos, a 5-6 senior defender, is the defending Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, as she was the first women's soccer player to earn a major Atlantic 10 award after a superb junior season. She earned Second Team All-Northeast Region by soccerbuzz.com and First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors in a vote among the coaches. Starting all 20 games, Bustos was named team MVP, helping Fordham post a 1.15 goals against average and eight shutouts. She also recorded one assist, which came against St. Bonaventure.
McDermott, a 5-7 junior midfielder, receives preseason All-Conference honors for the second straight season, after receiving Second Team All-Atlantic 10 accolades for the second consecutive year. As a sophomore, she finished third on the team in scoring with four goals and four assists for 12 points. She notched two game-winning goals, which came in wins over Iona and Rhode Island.
Team Captains: For the second straight year, senior defender Lauren Bustos will serve as one of the team captains for the 2009 season. Joining her as a co-captain will be junior midfielder Katie McDermott.
