Bronx, N.Y. – (October 19, 2022) – It's the final week of the Atlantic 10 women's soccer regular season and the Fordham Rams are right in the hunt to qualify for the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship with two matches remaining. The Rams open the week by hosting Dayton on Thursday, while traveling to Massachusetts on Sunday.
Fordham (4-10-1, 3-4-1 A10) remains at 10 points in the league standings, which now has the Rams in the eighth and final playoff spot. The Rams are a point ahead of both La Salle and Rhode Island, two ahead of Richmond, three ahead of Loyola Chicago, and four points clear of George Washington.
Dayton (12-3-1, 6-2-0 A10) currently sits in third place in the league standings and have already secured a spot in the Championship. After a nine-match win streak, the Flyers have dropped consecutive games to VCU and #10 Saint Louis, heading into Thursday's match-up. Itala Gemelli leads the Flyers' offense with nine goals and 20 points this season, as Dayton is averaging almost two goals per contest. Defensively, Dayton has ten shutouts in 16 games, allowing a 0.75 goals against average.
Massachusetts (5-6-5, 4-2-2 A10) will play at Loyola Chicago on Thursday before hosting Fordham on Sunday afternoon. The Minutewomen enter the final week of play in a tie for fourth place with Davidson. UMass features one of the top goal scorers in the league in Lauren Bonavita, who has ten goals on the year. Defensively, the team has a 1.69 goals against average and three shutouts.
GAME COVERAGE:
Thursday – Dayton at Fordham – 7:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats |
International Video Feed | Follow on the team on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram - @FordhamWoSoc
Sunday – Fordham at Massachusetts – 1:00 PM –
Live Video (ESPN+) |
Live Stats | Follow on the team on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram - @FordhamWoSoc
SERIES HISTORY: On Thursday, it will be 22
nd all-time meeting between Fordham and Dayton with the Flyers holding a 15-3-3 record against the Rams. Since 2014, the two teams have only seen each other twice. The Rams won a 2-1 contest over the Flyers in 2016, while Dayton took a 3-0 decision in 2019
For Sunday, it will be the 25
th meeting between the Rams and Minutewomen. UMass holds a 17-6-1 edge in the series and have won four straight matches, dating back to 2019. The Rams' last win over UMass came in 2017.
LAST TIME OUT (10/16): The Fordham women's soccer team hosted VCU at Jack Coffey Field on Sunday, looking to send off their senior class in style on Senior Day. The game started out promising as Fordham netted the opening goal, however VCU answered with four straight tallies to earn the 4-2 decision.
Fordham kicked things off with the first goal of the contest in the 14th minute.
Ryann Lucas' free kick found the head of
Abby Doyle in the box for her first goal as a Ram and a 1-0 lead.
The lead did not last long as VCU tied the game just 1:16 later. Emily Charen's throw-in one-hopped to Milica Bulatovic in the box, who flicked the ball over the goalkeeper for her third goal of the year. VCU then scored twice in a matter of 1:32 to take a 3-1 lead. Greta Kraszula scored on a sliding shot at the penalty spot in the 35th minute, while Kendyl Sarver scored on a breakaway in the 36th minute.
VCU added another marker in the 58th minute for a 4-1 lead, as Kanna Matsuhisa blocked a clearing attempt by Fordham goalkeeper
Serena Mensah, where the ball rolled back into the Fordham net for her third goal of the year.
The final goal of the game came in the 90th minute when Fordham made it a 4-2 final. After a foul right at the top corner of the box,
Caroline Monahan's free kick cleared the goalkeeper and went under the crossbar for her second goal of the season.
RAMSES CHALLENGE: As a part of a new fundraising challenge this season, fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each goal the women's soccer team scores this season.
Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams await to see if they will qualify for the Atlantic 10 Championship, which will start on October 28 and 29. All games will be hosted at campus sites.
