Bronx, N.Y. – (March 17, 2021) – For the first time in just over a month, the Fordham Rams are back in action for women's soccer with a pair of scheduled matches this week. The Rams are slated to open Atlantic 10 play at Saint Joseph's on Thursday, while hosting Massachusetts on Sunday.
Fordham (0-0-1) played one match this season prior to the pause – a 0-0 double-overtime draw against Sacred Heart on February 10
th. Saint Joseph's is 1-3-2 on the season with an 0-0-1 league record after playing to a 1-1 draw against Rhode Island on Sunday. Massachusetts is 2-2-1 on the year, 1-0-1 in the Atlantic 10, following a 1-0 win at La Salle on Sunday.
GAME COVERAGE:
Thursday – Fordham at Saint Joseph's – 7:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats | Follow on Facebook/Twitter/InstaGram - @FordhamWoSoc
Sunday – Massachusetts at Fordham – 3:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats | Follow on Facebook/Twitter/InstaGram - @FordhamWoSoc
SERIES HISTORY: For the two Jesuit institutions, this will be the 26
th all-time meeting between Fordham and Saint Joseph's with Fordham having a slight edge with a 10-9-6 record. The last meeting was a scoreless draw on October 20
th, 2019.
For the second match of the weekend, this will be the 22
nd match-up between the Rams and Minutewomen with Massachusetts holding a 14-6-1 lead in the series. These two teams last met in the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals where the Minutewomen came away with the victory.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Proudly wearing the captain armbands this season for Fordham women's soccer will be seniors
Hope Baisley and
Emma Johnson.
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.
In the opening match of the season, Baisley and Johnson were big parts of an opening shutout of Sacred Heart. Baisley played all 110 minutes of the double-overtime match, while Johnson played 95 minutes.
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.
In the opening game of the season against Sacred Heart, O'Sullivan started the match playing 45 minutes, while Grossman finished the final 65 minutes in a shared shutout by the duo.
WHO'S NEXT: Following this week's action, Fordham will host Rhode Island on March 25
th at 3:00 PM, while playing at La Salle on March 28
th at 1:00 PM.
