Bronx, N.Y. – (September 29, 2018) – In a primetime match-up of two of the favorites to win the Atlantic 10 men's soccer championship, the 25
th-ranked Fordham Rams and Rhode Island Rams, who were receiving votes for the top 25, both showed why they are two of the top teams in the country on Saturday night. In the end, Fordham came away with a 4-2 victory over URI at Jack Coffey Field behind two goals from
Sameer Fathazada and a career-best five-point night by
Janos Loebe.
With the win, Fordham improved to 5-1-2 on the year, 1-0 in the Atlantic 10, while Rhode Island fell to 6-2-0 overall, 0-1 in the league.
The fireworks started in the ninth minute, as a foul awarded a free kick to Fordham about 23 yards away.
Janos Loebe took the shot, which was stopped by URI goalkeeper Roger Penske, but the rebound could not be controlled and was put home by
Sameer Fathazada for his second goal of the season.
Rhode Island then tied the game at one in the 16
th minute, as Stavros Zarokostas headed in a corner kick by Dominik Richter for his fourth goal of the year.
Fordham regained the lead right before halftime in the 43
rd minute. Just after Loebe was stopped by Penske a minute earlier, Janos got another chance off a through ball by
Andron Kagramanyan. This time, Loebe was able to tuck the shot in the right side of the net for his third of the year and a 2-1 lead.
Janos Loebe had plenty of reasons to jump
on Saturday with his first career five-point game.
URI came right back at the start of the second half, scoring in the 47
th minute to knot the game at two. This time, Richter took the pass from Peder Kristiansen, and was able to rifle a shot into the top left corner of the goal from 30 yards for his third marker of the season.
As the teams continued the back and forth affair, Fordham went back ahead 3-2 in the 67
th minute on the rush.
Bart Dziedzic played the ball ahead to Loebe on the left side of the box. Loebe then backheeled the ball to Fathazada who one-timed it into the right side of the net for his second goal of the evening.
Fordham then clinched the victory in the 82
nd minute, netting an insurance goal, when
Joergen Oland headed home a corner kick from Loebe for his fourth tally of the year.
For Loebe, he finished with a career-high three assists and a five-point night, which was also a career-best. In net, Fordham's
Rashid Nuhu made a season-high seven stops with Oland also adding a defender save in the game. Penske had three saves for URI.
The Fordham men's soccer team will next be in action on Tuesday, October 2
nd, when the Rams host Stony Brook at Jack Coffey Field, beginning at 7:00 PM.
