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Bronx, N.Y. – Two first half goals by
Nicol Natale and
Clara Gastaldi and some excellent defensive play was the perfect formula for the Fordham Rams to kick-off a three-game homestand on Sunday, as they toppled the Dayton Flyers, 2-1, on Cancer Awareness Day at Jack Coffey Field.
With the win, Fordham improved to 8-4-3 overall, 3-1-2 in the Atlantic 10, while Dayton fell to 3-8-3 on the year, 1-3-2 in the league. The victory marked just the third time that Fordham has beaten Dayton in 20 all-time meetings and the first since 2008.
The Rams wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, scoring on the first shot of the game in the third minute.
Rachel Collage put a long ball just to the edge of the six-yard box, where
Nicol Natale flicked a header into the top left corner of the goal for her third marker of the season.
Nicol Natale scored the first of Fordham's two goals on Sunday.
Dayton quickly knotted the game at one in the 15
th minute on a brilliant individual effort by Alexis Kiehl. Micayla Livingston put a through ball to Kiehl right at the right corner of the six-yard box. Kiehl put on the breaks to lose the Fordham defender and cut back for a shot from ten yards, scoring her team-leading tenth goal of the season.
However the game did not stay tied for long, as Fordham capitalized on a Dayton miscue, deep in their own territory in the 27
th minute. A Dayton defender passed the ball back to her own keeper, Kaelyn Johns, but the pass had a little too much on it and Johns could not handle it. Fordham's
Clara Gastaldi quickly pounced on the ball and shot it into the open net from 15 yards out for her second goal of the season and a 2-1 Fordham lead.
Fordham captains handing in a donation check to Montefiore's Maeve Mackenzie.
That lead would hold up, as Fordham keeper
Megan Fitzgerald made two saves in the second half, while punching away a number of crossing attempts into the box to keep the final score at 2-1.
In addition to the game, it was announced that Fordham women's soccer raised over $2,600 in donations for the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care.
The Fordham women's soccer team will next be in action on Thursday, October 20
th, as the Rams host George Washington at 7:00 PM.
