Bronx, N.Y. – (September 6, 2022) – The Fordham Rams did not let a little bit of rain on Tuesday night get them down in their annual "Battle of the Bronx" showdown with the Manhattan Jaspers, as
Nathan Simes scored twice to lead the Rams to a 3-1 men's soccer victory at Jack Coffey Field.
Fordham opened the scoring in the 15
th minute.
Ben Shepherd blasted a shot at the Manhattan goalkeeper that he stopped but was unable to hold on to the slick ball.
Nathan Simes was right there to tap in the loose ball for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Rams could have made it 2-0 shortly afterward, as Manhattan was called for a foul in the box, awarding a penalty kick to Fordham. However, Danny DiMarco guessed correctly and stopped
Daniel Espeleta's penalty kick, keeping the score at 1-0.
The Jaspers kept that momentum and knotted the match at one in the 25
th minute. Dorian Bounab got the ball to James Cotter for a quick cross into the box, where Ronaldo Da Silva scored from 10 yards out.
Florian Deletioglu celebrates his 1st goal of the year.
The score remained at one-all due to the efforts of Fordham goalkeeper
Demetri Skoumbakis, who registered five saves over a 20-minute stretch into the second half.
Fordham then recaptured the lead in the 67
th minute, as a tenacious Simes battled his way into the box and was fouled, awarding a second penalty kick opportunity to the Rams. This time, Simes stepped to the spot and powered a shot into the right side of the net for his second marker of the match.
The Rams then put the game away in the 70
th minute, as the German combination of
Jakob Gesien and
Florian Deletioglu gave the Rams a 3-1 lead. On the left side of the box, the duo played a give and go with Deletioglu cutting across the top of the box. He blistered a sliding shot into the net from 18 yards for his first goal of the season.
Skoumbakis capped off his night with two more saves over the final 20 minutes to give him seven in the win.
Fordham is back in action on Friday, September 9
th, as the team hosts UMBC for a 6:00 PM start.
Gallery: (9-6-2022) Men's Soccer vs. Manhattan
