Bronx, N.Y. – (August 21, 2019) - The first official games of the 2019-20 Fordham Athletics calendar take place this week, as the Fordham women's soccer team takes to the pitch for its first two games of the regular season.  The Rams begin the year in Knoxville, Tennessee to face the 10^th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers of the SEC on Thursday night, followed by a Sunday showdown with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights of the BIG 10, who are receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Thursday - Fordham at Tennessee – 7:00 PM ET – Live Video (SEC Network +) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamWoSoc
 
Sunday - Fordham at Rutgers – 2:00 PM ET – Live Video (BTN +) | Live Stats | | Follow on Twitter @FordhamWoSoc
 
SERIES HISTORY: This is the first-ever meeting between Fordham and Tennessee.  It does mark the second time that Fordham has played a team from the SEC, having matched-up with South Carolina in the season opener last year.  On Sunday, it will be the fourth meeting between Fordham and Rutgers with the Scarlet Knights earning the win in the previous three match-ups, the last of which came in 2013.
 
SEASON OPENERS: In season opening matches, Fordham has had a mixed bag of results, posting an 11-13-2 mark.  The Rams lost their season opener last season with a 1-0 loss at #5 South Carolina.
 
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Fordham enters 2019 after making the Atlantic 10 Championship for the third time in the last four seasons.  The team returns a plethora of experience from a year ago, led by senior captains Margaret Roughley and Juliana Mascelli.  Roughley was the team's leading scorer in 2018 with four goals and an assist for nine points, while Mascelli played in all 19 games as a junior, making nine starts.

 
Other key returnees include senior goalkeeper Kelly LaMorte, who played every minute for the Rams in 2018, recording eight shutouts and a 0.82 goals against average, and senior Amanda Miller, who netted two goals and three assists up front.
 
Fordham also welcomes back three starting defenders who appeared in all 19 games in Emma Johnson, Claudia Cuicani, and Kendall Dandridge, along with midfielders Saige Bingman and Morgan Busacca.
 
PRESEASON POLL: The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason predictions for the upcoming women's soccer season, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
 
The defending Atlantic 10 champion, Saint Louis, was picked to finish first in the league, garnering 13 of the 14 first place votes.  The only other team to receive a first place vote was George Mason, who was slotted third, behind Saint Louis and VCU.
 
Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts, and Dayton were picked fourth through sixth, respectively, followed by Fordham in seventh and La Salle in eighth.  The top eight finishers in the conference qualify for the conference championship in early November.
 
After the top eight, George Washington was ninth, followed by Duquesne, Richmond, Davidson, St. Bonaventure, and Rhode Island.

The Atlantic 10 Championship will once again have quarterfinal match-ups at campus sites with the semifinals and final at Saint Louis' Hermann Stadium, November 8-10. 

TOP NOTCH: The Rams have put together a challenging schedule for 2019, which features three games against teams from the "Power 5" conferences in Tennessee (SEC), Rutgers (BIG 10), and Syracuse (ACC).  This is first time since 2012 that Fordham has seen a non-conference slate like this, when the Rams faced Michigan (BIG 10), Michigan State (BIG 10), and Maryland (ACC).
 
EXHIBITION ACTION: The Rams played one exhibition contest during the preseason, defeating Fairfield by a 1-0 score on a goal by Amanda Miller.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Following Sunday's game, Fordham will prep for a pair of local road games at Manhattan on Thursday, August 29^th at 7:00 PM and at Hofstra on Sunday, September 1^st at 1:00 PM.