They say good things come to those who wait. For the Fordham women's soccer team, it had been five straight seasons without postseason play, but on Thursday, the Rams guaranteed a postseason berth with a record-breaking 2-0 shutout of the Davidson Wildcats at Jack Coffey Field.
With the win, Fordham improved to 12-6-0 overall, 6-3-0 in the Atlantic 10, while Davidson fell to 6-12-0 on the year, 2-7-0 in the league. The Rams will be heading to next week's Atlantic 10 Championship for the seventh time overall and the first time since 2009.
It was an overwhelming performance by the Rams, outshooting Davidson, 21-6 in the match, and getting two first half goals.
In the 34
th minute, the Rams struck for the opening goal of the contest, when
Jessica Widmann found
Kristina Maksuti for a shot from 25 yards out. The shot grazed the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net for Maksuti's seventh goal of the season.
The Rams then got their second goal in the waning seconds of the first half.
Brianna Blunck took a corner kick with about 20 seconds left in the period. Davidson goalkeeper Alex Carpenter muffed the catch and the ball deflected off two players. A Davidson defender tried to clear the ball off the line, but Fordham's
Caitlin Leen got in the way of the clearance and knocked the ball into the net for her first collegiate goal.
Caitlin Leen netted her first collegiate goal on Thursday. The Fordham defense took care of business in the second half, giving up just three shots to the Wildcats, none of which were on frame. It marked Fordham's tenth shutout of the season, breaking the team record of nine, set in 2009.
Fordham goalkeeper
Megan Fitzgerald made one save for her career-best eighth clean sheet, which tied
Shannon Misiaszek's 2001 single season record at Rose Hill. Carpenter made nine saves for the Wildcats.
The Rams wrap up regular season play on Sunday, November 1
st, as Fordham hosts George Mason for Senior Day, beginning at 1:00 PM. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at 12:40 PM.
