Bronx, N.Y. – (November 5, 2021) – For the eighth consecutive year, the Fordham men's soccer team will participate in the Atlantic 10 Championship and look to defend its crown from last spring, when the team won its fourth conference championship since 1996.
Fordham (6-9-2, 4-3-1 A-10) enter the championship as the #4 seed and will host its quarterfinal match against #5 seed VCU (9-6-2, 4-3-1 A10).
Fordham and VCU are very familiar with each other, having just meet two weeks ago down at Richmond, where Fordham came away with the win, and proved to be the tie-breaker for championship seeding.
Both teams enter the championship off draws in their regular season finale. Fordham played to a 1-1 tie with Saint Joseph's, while VCU had a scoreless draw with Massachusetts.
Fordham is led into the championship with a plethora of experience as 19 players returned from last spring's championship squad including Most Outstanding Player
Matt Sloan, who has a team-best four goals this fall.
VCU is led by the scoring tandem of Celio Pompeu and Damian Gallegos. Each player has four goals on the season with Pompeu having a team-high seven assists.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – VCU at Fordham – 7:00 PM –
Game Notes |
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the tenth all-time meeting between Fordham and VCU, and the third in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
VCU holds a 3-1-5 record against Fordham, but it was Fordham that came away with a 1-0 win at VCU earlier this season after an 89th minute goal by
Galen Flynn.
In the Atlantic 10 Championship, both previous meetings at the 2014 and 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship were draws, where Fordham was able to advance past VCU on penalty kicks in both contests.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Make sure to follow the Fordham Rams all season long on their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram - @FordhamSoccer
LAST TIME OUT: It was a wild final day for the Atlantic 10 men's soccer regular season finale, and the Fordham-Saint Joseph's match played right into the craziness. Fordham's
Sameer Fathazada scored the game-tying goal in the 60th minute, as the Rams and Hawks played to a 1-1 draw on Senior Day at Jack Coffey Field.
Sameer Fathazada
Saint Joseph's was able to get the opening goal of the game in the 18th minute of action. As a ball was cleared from the box by a Fordham defender, Saint Joseph's Alex Hartmann got to the loose ball and hammered a shot from the top of the arc into the right side of the goal for his fourth goal of the season.
The score remained at 1-0 with Fordham having a chance to tie in the 50th minute, when Saint Joseph's was called for a handball in the box, awarding a penalty kick to the Rams.
Sameer Fathazada took the penalty but missed wide.
Fathazada redeemed himself though in the 60th minute, netting the tying marker on a fantastic individual effort. With the ball out at the center circle,
Jacob Bohm hit a lead pass to
Matt Sloan, who found Fathazada on a run toward the left side of the box. Fathazada then chip the ball with the outside of his right foot over a Saint Joseph's defender and the goalkeeper into the right side of the net for his first marker of the year.
Fordham then had a prime chance to get the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute, as
Florian Deletioglu rocketed a shot off the crossbar and was cleared.
The game though stayed deadlocked through regulation and both sessions of overtime to finish in a 1-1 draw.
FORDHAM at A-10's: This is Fordham's 15
th overall appearance at the Atlantic 10 Championship, posting an 11-8-3 record with four conference championships (1996, 2014, 2016, 2020-21)
WHO'S NEXT: With a win on Saturday, Fordham advances to the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals on November 12
th. Location and time to be determined.
