Bronx, N.Y. – (October 26, 2018) – With just two conference games remaining, it's crunch time for the Fordham men's soccer team, as the Rams sit right in thick of the playoff hunt. The first of their remaining games takes place on Saturday at La Salle with a new start time of 6:00 PM at McCarthy Stadium (previously was at 7:00 PM).
Fordham (7-3-4, 3-2-1 A10) picked up a valuable four out of six points last week with a draw against George Washington and a 2-0 win over Davidson.
Janos Loebe and
Sameer Fathazada both scored in the win at Davidson, while
Rashid Nuhu picked up his 28
th and 29
th career shutouts in the two games.
La Salle (3-10-3, 0-4-3 A10) will have their Senior Day ceremonies prior to the game, as this will be the team's final game of the season. The Explorers have seven seniors and one graduate student and the team will come ready to send their seniors off with a strong performance. They are led offensively by Soji Olatoye, who has six goals and 13 points this season, while in net, Cameron Keys has seen the most action, posting 50 saves in 13 games.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – Fordham at La Salle– 6:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) (pending weather) |
Live Stats |
Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Explorers are long-time rivals, dating back to when the two squads were members of the MAAC. This will be the 32
nd all-time meeting with La Salle holding a slight edge in the series at 16-12-3. However, Fordham has gotten the better of the series recently, winning the last four meetings, which including a 1-0 win last year at Jack Coffey Field.
MOVIN' UP: As the season rolls on, Fordham seniors
Janos Loebe and
Rashid Nuhu continue their upward climb in the all-time Fordham record book. With a goal at Davidson, Loebe is eighth in career goals with 24, while his 78 points are tied for fifth on the career points list with Ifeatu Oute (1970-72). He is also second in career assists with 30, trailing only John Wolyniec (34 – 1995-98) and ranks tied for sixth in games played (76), and sixth in games started (75).
For Nuhu, he picked up his 28
th and 29
th career shutouts last week, which puts him second on the Rams' all-time list (29 – 1985-88). He is also second in career minutes (6671) and appearances (71), and second in career goals against average (0.92).
LAST TIME OUT: Making its third trip to Davidson in the last four seasons, the Fordham men's soccer team continued to make Alumni Soccer Stadium feel like a second home, as the Rams topped the Wildcats, 2-0, in Davidson, N.C.
Fordham has now played five total games at Davidson, three of which came in the 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship, and remained clean, posting five shutouts.
Sameer Fathazada
After a scoreless first half, the Rams struck the scoreboard first in the 61
st minute. After a foul, Fordham's
Janos Loebe lined up a free kick from about 24 yards on the left side and drilled a line shot off the right post and into the goal for his fifth of the season.
Just nine minutes later, the Rams struck for another goal and a 2-0 lead.
Jack Sluys got the ball on the run to the end line. He put a cross along the ground from the right side that was touched by
Johannes Pieles, and knocked into the goal by
Sameer Fathazada. It was his fourth goal of the season.
The Rams then held off the Wildcats over the final 20 minutes for the 2-0 win. Fordham goalkeeper
Rashid Nuhu made two saves in goal for this fifth shutout of the season and the 29
th of his career.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams have one more regular season game, which will be against Dayton on Wednesday, October 31
st for Senior Night at Jack Coffey Field, beginning at 7:00 PM.
