Bronx, N.Y. – (September 3, 2021) – It will be a busy Labor Day Weekend for the Fordham men's soccer team with a pair of local contests. The weekend starts with the Rams' home opener on Saturday afternoon at Jack Coffey Field against LIU, while on Labor Day Monday, Fordham heads out to St. John's to round out the weekend.
The Rams look to bounce back from the team's opening weekend losses to Providence and #5 Georgetown.
For LIU, the Sharks opened the season with a 1-1 mark, falling to Stony Brook, while defeating Saint Joseph's in overtime. Emil Jaaskelainen netted the overtime winner in the 92
nd minute to defeat the Hawks, while Demetri Skoumbakis had six saves in the shutout.
St. John's also opened the 2021 season at 1-1, dropping a 2-1 affair at #6 Clemson, while topping Albany, 3-0, in the Red Storm home opener. In that match, Brandon Knapp led the way with a goal and two assists, while Lucas Bartlett and Wesley Leggett had the other markers in the match.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – LIU at Fordham – 1:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats
Monday – Fordham at St. John's – 7:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN3) |
Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY: In the home opener, it will be the first meeting between Fordham and LIU since 2003. Overall, LIU holds the all-time series lead at 16-9-4. The Rams will look for their first win over LIU since 2000.
On Monday, it will be the 18
th meeting between the Rams and Red Storm with each squad having eight wins to go with one draw. Fordham won the last meeting in 2017 on a Janos Loebe game-winner, which was the Rams' first over the Red Storm since 1990. Prior to that 2017 match, St. John's was 5-0-1 in the previous six meetings with the Rams.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Make sure to follow the Fordham Rams all season long on their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram - @FordhamSoccer
PRESEASON POLLS: The Atlantic 10 Conference released its men's soccer preseason poll and All-Conference Team for the upcoming 2021 season in a vote of the league's coaches.
Fordham, the defending Atlantic 10 champion, was predicted as the top team in the Atlantic 10 with 155 points and six first-place votes. Saint Louis followed in second at 148 points and three first-place votes, while Dayton was third at 140 points and two first-place votes.
Callum James posted 11 saves in his first two games.
Massachusetts was slotted fourth with 124 points with VCU in fifth at 123 points. VCU also received the final two first-place votes.
McNAMARA & SLOAN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-A-10: For the preseason All-Conference Team, the Rams had two players,
Luke McNamara and
Matt Sloan, named to the 13-player squad.
McNamara was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 and First Team All-Southeast Region this past spring, after netting a career-high three goals. He also was selected to the All-Championship Team, following Fordham's fourth A-10 crown, and helped the Rams finish with a team goals against average of 0.65, which ranked in the top 20 in the NCAA. He was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
Sloan was also a First Team All-Southeast Region selection by United Soccer Coaches, after leading the Rams in scoring with four goals and nine points this spring. He saved his best performances for last, scoring in both matches of the Atlantic 10 Championship, which included the game-winning goal in the title match against George Washington. He received the Championship's Most Outstanding Player Award and was one of six Rams named to the All-Championship Team.
EXPERIENCED NEWCOMERS: Among the newcomers in 2021, the Rams welcomed graduate transfer
Matt Ranieri and junior transfer
Callum James into the fold. James, a 6-3 goalkeeper, transferred from St. Francis Brooklyn, where he spent the two seasons with the Terriers. He helped the team capture the NEC Championship for the 2020-21 season and was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship. He won the first-ever NEC Goalkeeper of the Year award for 2020-21 and earned All-NEC First Team honors, as well as Second Team All-Northeast Region accolades from United Soccer Coaches. Ranieri, a 5-11 defender, transferred from Dartmouth, where he spent the last four seasons with the Big Green. Prior to the missed 2020 season due to the pandemic, he appeared in 43 matches at Dartmouth and was as a part of Dartmouth's 2017 Ivy League Championship team, which made the NCAA Tournament.
WHO'S NEXT: Following the St. John's match, the Rams continue their road schedule at Fairleigh Dickinson on September 11
th and at Manhattan on September 14
th.
