Men’s Soccer Matches Up with Duquesne & UMass This Week

Bronx, N.Y. – (October 9, 2018) – Following a tough overtime loss at Saint Joseph's on Saturday, the Fordham men's soccer team will look to get back in the win column this week with a pair of matches against Duquesne on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, while hosting Massachusetts on Saturday night.  Fordham (5-2-3, 1-1 A10) continues to be in consideration for the top 25 poll, despite its 3-2 overtime loss at Saint Joseph's on Saturday.
 
Duquesne is 2-6-2 on the year, with a 0-1-1 mark in the conference.  Most recently, the Dukes fell to VCU by a 2-0 score on Saturday.  Manel Busquets is the leading scorer for Duquesne with nine points on three goals and three assists, while in goal the duo of Domenic Nascimben and Robbie McKelvey have split the starter duties.
 
One of the favorites in the Atlantic 10 to start the season, Massachusetts is 5-5-2 on the year with a 1-2-0 mark in the conference.  The Minutemen picked up their first conference win on Saturday with a 2-0 win over George Mason.  UMass is led DeAndrae Brown, who had a team-best 13 points on six goals and an assist.  Like Duquesne, the Minutemen have split the goalkeeper duties between Trey Miller and Marvyn Dorchin.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Wednesday – Fordham at Duquesne– 7:00 PM – Live Video(ESPN+) | Live Video (International) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
Saturday – UMass at Fordham –7:00 PM – Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Video (International) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 20^th all-time meeting between Fordham and Duquesne with the Rams holding a 10-8-1 edge in the series.  The two teams did not face each other last season, but did in 2016, where Fordham won both a regular season and Atlantic 10 quarterfinal match against the Dukes en route to an Atlantic 10 title.
 
On Saturday, it will be the 24^th all-time meeting between Fordham and UMass.  The Minutemen hold the edge at 15-8-0, as the two teams split a pair of matches last year.  Fordham won the regular season match-up over the then-25^th ranked Minutemen, 3-2 , while UMass took a 1-0 decision in overtime in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals.
 
IN THE POLLS: The Rams are still in consideration for the top 25 polls, as they fell to #29 in the College Soccer News Top 30 Poll, and are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
INTERNATIONAL STREAMING NOW AVAILABLE: International live webstreams of select Atlantic 10 events are now available through the conference web site.  To access a schedule of events, please visit Atlantic10.com and click "International Streaming" under the "Watch" link in the red banner. Follow the prompts to subscribe.  Monthly packages, available for those outside of the United States only, cost $4.99. Domestic subscriptions are available through ESPN+.
 
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 his assist against Saint Joseph's, Loebe is now ninth in career goals with 22, while his 73 points are sixth on the career points list.  He is also second in career assists with 29, trailing only John Wolyniec (34 – 1995-98).
 
For Nuhu, he picked up his 27^th career shutout against Stony Brook, which puts him in a tie with Jeff Knuth for second on the Rams' all-time list (27 – 1985-88).  He also surpassed 6,000 career minutes played in goal earlier this season, joining Knuth and Ryan Meara (2008-11) as the lone Rams to reach that plateau.

 
LAST TIME OUT: Saint Joseph's Leon Maric scored in the 98^th minute to a break the tie in the overtime, as the Hawks topped the #21 Fordham Rams, 3-2, at Sean Sweeney Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 
Fordham opened the scoring in the 37^th minute, as Janos Loebe got a cross in from the left side which was headed home by Jack Sluys for his second goal of the season.
 
The Hawks quickly knotted the game at one in the 41^st minute on a strange play from the midfield.  Mike Fornaro put a long ball into the box, bounced, and avoided multiple players in the box and rolled into the goal to knot the game at one.
 
Saint Joseph's then took a 2-1 lead in the second half in the 51^st minute.   Daniel Morales chested the ball wide to Alvin Dahn, who played the ball into the box.  The cross was knocked into the net by Derek MacKinnon for his third goal of the year.
 
Fordham then found the equalizer in the 79^th minute as a missed clearance by the Hawks came right to Johannes Pieles, who buried a shot inside the left post for his second goal of the year.   The game would stay tied thanks to multiple outstanding defensive plays by both teams and both goalkeepers.
 
However, the Hawks found the game-winner in the 98^th minute in the first overtime period, as a long ball forward by Saint Joseph's went off a Fordham defender to Leon Maric.  Maric waited out Fordham goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu and two defenders for the game-winning marker, his sixth of the season.
 
In net, Nuhu finished with seven saves, while Joseph Boehm had three stops for the Hawks.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Following these matches, the Rams have a home conference match against George Washington on Wednesday, October 17^th, at 7:00 PM, while traveling to Davidson on October 20^th for a 7:00 PM match.