Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham men's soccer team continues its opening road swing to start the 2017 season, but won't have to travel to far on Labor Day Weekend. The Rams will be at St. John's on Friday night for a 7:30 PM showdown on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App, while on Monday, Fordham will be at Columbia for a 4:00 PM Labor Day contest on the Ivy League Network.
GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – Fordham at St. John's – 7:30 PM –
Live Stats |
Live Video (ESPN3/WatchESPN App) |
Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
Monday – Fordham at Columbia – 4:00 PM –
Live Stats |
Live Video (Ivy League Network) |
Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
SERIES HISTORY: Since 1980, this will be the 17
th meeting between Fordham and St. John's with the Red Storm, holding an 8-7-1 edge in the series. The two teams have not met since 2014, when St. John's pulled out a 1-0 win at Belson Stadium, giving the Red Storm a 5-0-1 record in the last six meetings. Fordham's last victory against St. John's came on September 5
th, 1990, a 2-0 decision in Queens.
On Labor Day, Fordham and Columbia will meet once again in one of the longest standing series in the Metropolitan area, which dates back to 1958. This is the 45
th meeting between the two New York City schools with Columbia ahead in the series at 26-12-6. However, Fordham has won four of the last six meetings, including the last two, which were a 1-0 win in 2015 when Columbia was ranked 21
st in the country and a 2-1 double overtime thriller last season, as
Eric Ohlendorf scored with 10 seconds remaining to win the game.
TEAM CAPTAINS: The senior trio of
Matthew Lewis,
Jannik Loebe, and
Christopher Bazzini will serve as the team captains for the 2017 season.
LAST TIME OUT: Duke's Brian White notched a pair of goals in the second half, while Daniele Proch converted a first half penalty kick, as the Blue Devils notched a 3-0 victory over the Fordham Rams in the final game of the John Rennie Nike Invitational, held at Koskinen Stadium.
Duke opened the scoring in the 15
th minute, when Fordham's
Joergen Oland was called for a foul in the box on Daniele Proch, giving the Blue Devils a penalty kick. Proch converted the penalty kick, scoring to the bottom left corner of the goal for his first of the year.
Matthew Lewis
Fordham came close to tying the game in the 28
th minute, as a long pass found
Jannik Loebe on the right side of the field. Loebe crossed the ball back to a wide open
Patrick Thees, but Thees' shot from 10 yards out was a touch too strong and sailed over the goal.
Later in the half, Fordham again had a prime chance to knot the game. After clearing a Duke corner kick, the Rams put together a potential 3-on-1 break, but a Duke defender closed in tight and was able to deflect the rush out of play.
The score remained at 1-0 until the 54
th minute, when Duke increased the lead to 2-0. Daniel Wright set a long pass forward to Brian White, who was able to split the Fordham defense and beat
Rashid Nuhu to the left side for his first goal of the season.
White then closed out the game with his second marker of the contest, as he came across the top of the box in the 84
th minute and ripped a shot from 18 yards into the top left corner of the goal for the 3-0 final.
The Rams were outshot 18-4 in the match with Nuhu making three saves for the Rams. Following the game,
Matthew Lewis and
Ross Willox were named to the All-Tournament Team.
WHO'S NEXT: Following this weekend's action, Fordham remains on the road for a September 8
th match-up with Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania, while finally having the team's opener on Wednesday, September 13
th against Marist.
