Bronx, N.Y. – (February 12, 2021) – It's been 455 days but the time has finally come, as the Fordham men's soccer team will be back on the pitch for an official match on Saturday afternoon. The Rams will host the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at 2:00 PM on Jack Coffey Field.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – Fairleigh Dickinson at Fordham – 2:00 PM –
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SERIES HISTORY: It's been some time since Fordham has played Fairleigh Dickinson with the last meeting coming in 2000, which was a 4-2 win for the Knights. The Knights hold a 22-5-4 record against the Rams, as the two squads played regularly in the 1970s and 1980s. Three of Fordham's five wins over Fairleigh Dickinson have come in overtime, the best of which was a 2-1 upset over a nationally ranked FDU in 1979.
PRESEASON POLL: The Atlantic 10 Conference released its preseason poll for the upcoming men's soccer season with Saint Louis being the preseason favorite. The Billikens were chosen first in the poll with 145 total points followed by VCU and Dayton in second with each having 143 points. Defending A-10 champion Rhode Island finished fourth in the poll with 135 points.
Fordham was picked fifth, tallying 115 points, followed by George Mason with 86 points, Davidson (76 points), La Salle and Massachusetts (75 points each).
Duquesne, George Washington, Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure rounded out the poll.
Fordham has qualified for the Atlantic 10 Championship in each of the last six seasons, making the semifinals five times and winning the championship twice. Keeping that string intact will be a challenge as only four teams will qualify this year, compared to the eight it has been.
The four-team Atlantic 10 Championship will be played on the campus of the highest seed, April 15-17, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Select regular-season matches and A-10 Championship matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
WELCOME ABOARD: A total of 15 newcomers have been added to the Fordham Rams roster for the upcoming season. Among the newcomers are four graduate students with some high decorations to their names. Goalkeeper
Josh Levine transferred from Penn State where he was named to the 2017 BIG TEN All-Tournament Team and a two-time Academic All-BIG TEN selection, while forward
Alberto Pangrazzi was a 2019 NAIA Second Team All-American at Central Methodist, scoring 23 goals in 23 games. Defender
Matt Sloan came from American University, where he started 34 of 46 games, and was an NSCAA High School All-American at Hicksville High School, with midfielder
Lennart Keßner coming from Elsa-Brändström-Schule in Germany.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams are in action twice next week. First, Fordham will travel to St. John's on Thursday, February 18
th for a 5:30 PM match, while on Sunday, the Rams will host Stony Brook at 1:00 PM.
