Men’s Soccer Set for Re-Match with Saint Louis in A-10 Quarterfinal

St. Louis, Mo. – (November 8, 2019) – After securing its sixth consecutive berth in the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Fordham men's soccer team will begin yet another run at a league title on Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.  The Rams will face off in a re-match from a week ago, as they will meet the Saint Louis Billikens at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
 
Under first year head coach Carlo Acquista, the Rams (6-10-2, 5-2-1 A-10) enter the match as the fifth seed, looking for its fourth conference championship, and playing well as of late.  The team ended league action with back-to-back wins over George Mason (3-1) and Saint Louis (2-0), netting five goals offensively, while only allowing one on the defensive end.
 
For Saint Louis (10-6-0, 6-2-0 A-10), the loss to the Rams last weekend denied them a regular season championship and the top seed in the tournament, which went to defending champion Rhode Island.  The fourth-seeded Billikens are led by the scoring tandem of Leo Novaes and Devin Boyce.  Novaes led the squad with six goals and five assists this season, while Boyce netted five goals and 13 points for second on the squad. 
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – Fordham at Saint Louis – 3:00 PM ET (2:00 PM CT) – Live Video (ESPN+) | International Stream | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
RAMS AT THE A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: Overall, this is Fordham's 12^th appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship since joining the league in 1995.  The Rams have won the Atlantic 10 crown and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship three times in 1996, 2014, and 2016.  Currently, Fordham is on a run six straight appearances in the championship, having made at least the semifinals in four of the previous five tournaments.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Having just met a week ago, this is the 12^th all-time meeting with the Billikens holding a 7-4 edge.  Though the Billikens hold the series lead, the Rams have won the last two match-ups at Hermann Stadium, including last week's 2-0 decision.
 
LAST TIME OUT (11/2): Heading into Saturday's finale at Saint Louis, the Fordham men's soccer team knew it needed a win and some help to have a chance of improving its seeding for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship.  The Rams took care of the business they could control, taking home a 2-0 win from the Billikens behind a two-goal performance by Tomer Zloczower at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

 
Fordham took a 1-0 lead in the 34^th minute of the first half.  With Fordham in the offensive end, Saint Louis tried to clear the ball near the top of the box.  Fordham's Adrian Valentine got in the way of that clearance, deflecting the ball to Tomer Zloczower at the top of the box.  He then connected on a shot inside the right post for his first goal of the season.

The score remained a 1-0 through most of the second half, as Saint Louis tried to find the equalizer.  The Fordham defense was up to the task, as the Billikens sent 12 shots toward the Fordham goal in the second half.  Konstantin Weis came up with four saves in the half for the Rams, the biggest one with two minutes left in regulation.  Matteo Kidd took a shot that was heading for inside the right post, but Weis made a diving save with his hand to force the ball over the end line for a corner kick.
 
The Rams defended the corner kick with Johannes Pieles outletting the ball to Zloczower near the sideline.  Zloczower then put on a one-man show in the midfield to kill time and was able to chip a shot over the Saint Louis goalkeeper who was away from his net for his second goal of the game and a 2-0 victory.
 
ZLOCZOWER & WEIS PICK UP FINAL A-10 WEEKLY ACCOLADES (11/4): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its final weekly men's soccer awards on Monday with Fordham graduate students Tomer Zloczower (Ness-Ziona, Israel) and Konstantin Weis (Karlsruhle, Germany) among the honorees.  Zloczower was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Davidson's Lucas Hauth, while Weis was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.  It is the first weekly honor for both players this season.
 
Zloczower received the honor after picking a perfect time to register his first goals of the season this past Saturday at Saint Louis.  He gave the Rams a 1-0 lead in the 34^th minute and then sealed away a 2-0 decision with a goal in the 89^th minute.
 
Weis totaled eight saves with only one goal against in two matches this past week.  After making four saves at Columbia, he matched that total in a shutout win over Saint Louis on Saturday.  It was his fifth shutout of the season.  His final save against Saint Louis was his best, making a diving stop with his glove hand to the right side in the 89^th minute.  The save kept the game at 1-0 with the ensuing Fordham possession leading to Zloczower's second goal, which clinched the victory.
 
PIELES NAMED TO CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM (11/8): The 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District® Men's Soccer Teams have been released to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.  Among the District 1 honorees is Fordham senior forward Johannes Pieles (Langenbach, Germany/J.C.F. GutsMuths Sportgymnasium Jena (Syracuse)).  He is the first Fordham men's soccer player to receive Academic All-District honors since Eric Ohlendorf in 2017.
 
Pieles, who holds a 3.94 GPA in Finance, has appeared in 17 of 18 games this season for the Rams, making 16 starts.  He has recorded two goals for four points on the year and notched one game-winning goal.  That game-winning tally came recently in a victory over George Mason on October 26th.  He also ranks second on the team in shots (43).   This is Pieles' second Academic All-District honor in his career, having received the same honor in 2017, while playing at Syracuse University. 

CLIMBING THE RANKS: In his last contest, senior defender Joergen Oland cracked the top ten in both games played and games started at Fordham.   The former Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year has started all 74 games he has appeared in netting 15 goals and three assists for 33 points in his career.  His 74 games played are tied for ninth all-time at Fordham with six other players, while the 74 starts are tied for seventh with three other players.
 
I'll TAKE TWO PLEASE: With Tomer Zloczower scoring twice in the Rams' 2-0 win at Saint Louis on Saturday, he is the fourth different Ram to have a multi-goal game this season.  Both Joergen Oland and Luke McNamara had two-goal performances for the Fordham Rams against Holy Cross, while Filippo Ricupati had a two-goal match against George Mason.
 
WHO'S NEXT: With a win at Saint Louis, the Rams will move onto the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals, which will be hosted at Fordham's Jack Coffey Field on November 15^th with the championship match on November 17^th.