Bronx, N.Y. – (February 10, 2021) – After 464 days, the time has finally come to begin the newest season for the Fordham women's soccer team00. The Rams welcome the Sacred Heart Pioneers for the inaugural game of the season on Wednesday afternoon at Jack Coffey Field.
GAME COVERAGE:
Wednesday – Sacred Heart at Fordham – 2:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats | Follow on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook - @FordhamWoSoc
SERIES HISTORY: This is the just the second-ever meeting between the Rams and Pioneers. The lone previous match-up came in 2006 at the NYC Nike Classic, hosted by St. John's. Fordham came away with a 2-0 victory that day, eventually winning the Classic two days later with a victory over Columbia.
SEASON OPENERS: In season opening matches, Fordham has had a mixed bag of results, posting an 11-14-2 mark. The Rams fell in their season opener last season with a 3-1 loss at #10 Tennessee.
WELCOME BACK: Fordham returns 15 players from their 2019 squad, led by a six-person senior class in
Saige Bingman,
Emma Johnson,
Hope Baisley,
Maura Holst,
Milan Bornstein, and
Crea Baker-Durante.
The Rams also have a strong group behind their seniors with juniors
Marissa Stanco, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime in Fordham's regular season finale to clinch a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship, and the stellar defender duo of
Kendall Dandridge and
Claudia Cuicani, who both played over 1,800 minutes a season ago.
Additionally, Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selections
Danielle Etienne, fresh off her first call up to the Haitian National Team, and
Kristen Cocozza, two game-winning goals in 2019, are also back for their sophomore campaigns.
Hope Baisley
TEAM CAPTAINS: Proudly wearing the captain armbands this season for Fordham women's soccer will be seniors
Hope Baisley and
Emma Johnson.
Baisley took over as the starting center back last season and did not disappoint. She was one of four Rams to start every game and ranked third on the squad in minutes played at 1,887. She was a part of a Ram defense that recorded five shutouts on the year and was selected to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the third consecutive season.
Despite missing last season with an injury, Johnson remains one of the top outside backs in the Atlantic 10, starting all but one game over her first two seasons at Rose Hill. Racking up over 1,700 minutes played in both 2017 and 2018, she contributed to 15 shutouts over those two years and a team 0.82 goals against average. Like Baisley, Johnson is also a three-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
NEW STARTER: Following the graduation of goalkeeper
Kelly LaMorte, the Rams' will have a new starting netminder this season. Fordham has the trio of junior
Maggie Grossman and first-year keepers
Maria O'Sullivan and
Serena Mensah to choose from.
One of the hardest workers on the squad, Grossman served as the back-up keeper during her first two campaigns at Fordham, with O'Sullivan coming to Rose Hill after playing for Ireland's National Team at the U19 European Championship. Mensah is a decorated keeper from Maryland where she was an All-State & All-
Washington Post performer and played club for Maryland United.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams are back in action a week from today on February 17
th, when they host Fairleigh Dickinson at 3:00 PM.
