Men’s Soccer Gets Back on Pitch This Week

Bronx, N.Y. – (March 15, 2021) – For the first time in a month, the Fordham Rams will play a men's soccer match on Jack Coffey Field this week.  Actually, they'll play two, as the Rams will host Saint Joseph's for their Atlantic 10 opener on Tuesday, while on Saturday, Saint Francis (Pa.) comes to Rose Hill.
 
Fordham returns to action, having played one match this season prior to the pause – a 2-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on February 13^th.  Saint Joseph's is 1-3 this spring, having most recently lost to Delaware 1-0 on March 10^th, while Saint Francis has not played yet this spring.
 
GAME COVERAGE:
Tuesday – Saint Joseph's at Fordham – 7:00 PM // Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter/InstaGram/Facebook - @FordhamSoccer
 
Saturday – Saint Francis (Pa.) at Fordham – 6:00 PM – Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter/InstaGram/Facebook - @FordhamSoccer
 
SERIES HISTORY: For Fordham and Saint Joseph's, the two Jesuit institutions have met 20 times since Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 in 1995 with the Rams holding a 12-6-2 lead in the series.  However, the Hawks have won the last two meetings in 2018 and 2019.  Last year, Saint Joseph's handed Fordham a controversial loss with Jacob Bohm scoring the lone Fordham goal.
 
On Saturday it will be a first-ever meeting between the Rams and Red Flash.
 
LAST TIME OUT (2/13): On a brisk afternoon at Jack Coffey Field, the Fordham men's soccer team didn't let cold temperatures stop the squad from getting their season underway against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, as the Rams picked up a 2-0 victory behind a pair of second half markers.  
 
In the first half, FDU goalkeeper Spencer King was the lone person between Fordham getting an early lead, posting six first half saves to keep the game scoreless.  Fordham outshot the Knights, 16-3, in the first half, while also having a 6-0 edge in corner kick chances.
 
The Rams would break through in the early minutes of the second half, when Fairleigh Dickinson was called for a handball in the box in the 49^th minute, awarding a penalty kick to Fordham.  Sameer Fathazada then buried the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.

 
Fordham remained in control during the second half and iced the game with a second marker in the 80^th minute on a picture perfect goal.  Max Rogers played a ball from the far side toward the right side of the box.  Matt Sloan then one-touched the ball back to the front of the net to a wide open Florian Deletioglu, who tapped the ball in for his first career goal.
 
That was all the offense for the game, as the Rams closed out the 2-0 victory, giving goalkeeper Josh Levine his first shutout as a Ram.  He ended up with two saves in the shutout.
 
In total, Fordham racked up 25 shots in the game, compared to five for Fairleigh Dickinson, while also having a 12-1 edge in corner kick opportunities.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS: The Rams have elected four captains for the current campaign.  Sameer Fathazada, Jacob Bohm, Matt Sloan, and Josh Levine will wear the captain armbands this spring.
 
In his third season with the Rams, Fathazada has been a mainstay in the Rams' starting line-up, starting 35 of the 36 games.  He has finished second and third on the team in scoring in his first two seasons, racking up a total of seven goals and five assists for 19 points. 
 
Bohm is a four-year member of the team and been one of the top midfielders on the squad over that time.   He has started 33 of 42 matches over his first three seasons.  After netting three game-winning goals as a freshman and being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, Bohm saw action in a personal-best 20 games in 2019, playing a career-high 1,755 minutes on the pitch.  Bohm is also a three-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.
 
Sloan and Levine are both in their first season with the Rams.  Sloan transferred to Fordham from American University with two seasons of eligibility remaining.  He started 34 of 46 games at American and was a three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll honoree. 

Levine joined the Rams after four years in net for Penn State.  He saw action in 32 games for the Nittany Lions, posting a 1.39 goals against average and 153 saves in almost 3,000 minutes played.  A two-time Academic All-BIG TEN selection, Levine was named to the 207 BIG TEN All-Tournament team and was twice named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.
 
WHO'S NEXT: Following this week's matches, the Rams will have a pair of Atlantic 10 matches next week, traveling to Massachusetts on March 24^th, while hosting Rhode Island on the 27^th.