Bronx, N.Y. – After picking up its first win of the 2019 campaign on Saturday against Holy Cross, the Fordham men's soccer team (1-3-1) heads back to the road for a Tuesday evening match at Clemson (5-0), beginning at 7 p.m., before returning to the Bronx to host La Salle (3-2) to begin Atlantic 10 play on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE: Tuesday – Fordham at Clemson – 7 p.m. ET – Live Video (ACC Network Extra) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
Saturday - Fordham vs. La Salle – 2 p.m. ET – Live Video (ESPN+) | International Streaming | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Rams picked up their first win under new head coach Carlo Acquista with a 5-0 thrashing of Holy Cross at Coffey Field on Saturday evening. Both centerbacks, Joergen Oland and Luke McNamara, tallied two goals apiece, while Bart Dziedzic scored once and assisted on two goals. The Rams dominated throughout, finishing with a 24-3 shot disparity, including 11-1 shots on target, and with 6-1 in corner kicks. Read more about the win here.
 
SERIES HISTORIES:
Clemson – This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
 
La Salle – The Explorers hold a 16-13-3 all-time advantage since 1983. Most recently, however, the Rams have won five straight since the 2014 season and have outscored La Salle, 11-1, over that span. Since 2005, Fordham holds a 10-3-0 record. All-time, La Salle holds a 8-7-2 record in the Bronx, though the Rams have won seven of the last eight meetings at Coffey Field.
 
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: The Rams have a new head coach in Carlo Acquista.  He came to Rose Hill after serving as a New York Red Bulls scout since February 2018, assisting in the construction of the MLS roster, and serving as lead scout and recruiter for the USL and PDL rosters.  He observed and evaluated college and professional matches globally, providing detailed reports to the New York Red Bulls Sporting Director, Head Scout, and Head Coach.
 
Prior to his stint with the Red Bulls, Acquista spent 11 seasons as the head men's soccer coach at Adelphi University, as well as serving as a Senior Assistant Athletic Director in the Adelphi athletics department.  He led the Panthers to four league championships in his tenure, which included two in the Atlantic Soccer Conference (2009 and 2010) and, more recently, two Northeast-10 Conference Championships (2016 and 2017), earning Northeast-10 and ECAC Coach of the Year honors in both of those seasons.
 
PRESEASON POLL & AWARDS: The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason coaches' poll and All-Conference team for men's soccer on August 22nd.  Three different teams earned first place votes, beginning with VCU as the preseason favorite with eight first place votes and 159 points.  Saint Louis was picked second with two first place votes and 146 points, while defending Atlantic 10 champion Rhode Island is in the third slot with three first place votes and 142 points.
 
Dayton was picked fourth with Fordham selected in the fifth slot.  Davidson, George Mason, and Saint Joseph's round out the first eight spots as the top eight will qualify for the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship.  Quarterfinal match-ups will be played at campus sites with the semifinals and championship final taking place at Fordham's Jack Coffey Field, November 15th and 17th.  This is the first time that Fordham will play host to the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship, having previously hosted part of the women's basketball championship (opening round), as well as the entire cross country (once), softball (four times), and baseball (four times).
 
The rest of the preseason poll starts with Massachusetts in ninth, followed by Duquesne, George Washington, St. Bonaventure, and La Salle.
 
In addition, senior defender Joergen Oland was named to the Preseason All-Conference team for the third consecutive year.
 
OLAND NAMED TO HERMANN WATCH LIST (8/1): United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club announced the initial list of NCAA Division I players named to the 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists in early August and on that list is Fordham senior defender Joergen Oland.
 
The MAC Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and given annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year.  The Hermann Trophy winners will be announced on January 10, 2020 at the Hermann Trophy Press Conference and Awards Banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis
 
Oland is the fifth Ram to be listed on the Hermann Award Watch List, joining Janos Loebe (2018), Nathaniel Bekoe (2012), Ryan Meara (2010 & 2011), and Tim Richardson (2011).  Oland is the lone representative from the Atlantic 10.
 
Oland was the 2018 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection as a junior, after garnering Second Team honors as a sophomore.  He also was named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Southeast Region last season, after earning Third Team All-Midwest honors in 2017.
 
Oland helped the Fordham defense post a 0.95 goals against average last season to go with six shutouts.  In addition to his prowess on the back end, he tied his career-high with five goals, which was good for second on the Rams, while his 10 points were third on the squad.  He was also named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week once.
 
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: For the 2019 season, seniors Joergen Oland and Bart Dziedzic will serve as the team's co-captains.
 
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will host Manhattan next Tuesday night, September 24, at 7 p.m. and then St. Bonaventure on Saturday, September 28, at 6 p.m. in the second game of A-10 play.