BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team will host its regular season home finale on Saturday night, welcoming Duquesne to Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field for a 7 p.m. kick-off.
The match will be broadcast live on both MSG and ESPN+ with Nick Guzman and Mike Smolens on the call from the Bronx.
In addition to a match that will prove crucial to the final Atlantic 10 standings, Fordham will also host Senior Night and Alumni Night on Saturday. As part of the day's alumni festivities, the program will honor the memory of former team captain and loyal supporter Kurt Byerly, FCRH '94, who passed away suddenly in May.
Fordham (6-2-5, 3-2-1 Atlantic 10) and Duquesne (6-6-2, 3-2-1 Atlantic 10) enter the weekend as part of a three-way tie for fifth place in the A-10 standings with UMass. The teams are just one point out of a two-way tie for third between Loyola Chicago and VCU and just three points back of Saint Louis in second with 13 points. Davidson occupies the top spot in the conference standings with a league mark of 5-1, their only loss in conference play coming at Moglia Stadium on Sept. 30. The top eight teams in the final regular season standings earn a bid to the A-10 Championship with the top half of the field hosting quarterfinal matches.
The Rams are looking for their first win since Oct. 4, having gone 0-1-2 in their last three games. Fordham suffered a controversial defeat at Rhode Island on Oct. 7 before posting draws against then-No. 18 Hofstra at home and UMass on the road.
In last Saturday's 1-1 draw with UMass,
Florian Deletioglu netted his team-leading seventh goal of the season, a total that ranks third in the Atlantic 10. Countryman
Kai Griese picked up his team-high fourth assist of the campaign.
Goalkeeper
Carter Abbott made three saves against the Minutemen after matching a season-high with six stops against the nationally ranked Pride a few days prior. For his efforts, Abbott became the first Fordham player to take home a weekly honor from the league, earning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week accolades on Monday.
In Monday's update of the NCAA RPI, Fordham checked in no. 27. The Rams moved as high as no. 10 prior to their loss at Rhode Island.
Duquesne enters the weekend on the heels of a 2-0 non-league loss to No. 23 Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. Prior to that local rivalry game against the Panthers, the Dukes snapped a three-game conference skid with a 3-2 win over GW on Saturday evening.
The Dukes are led on offense by sophomore midfielder Ask Ekeland, who has found the back of the net eight times this season, a total that ranks second in the A-10. His eight goals have come in only four games, as he recorded a hat trick against Virginia Tech and braces against Saint Joe's and GW. Jayden Da, a junior forward from Rockville, Md., has scored six times for the Dukes.
Zoltan Nagy, a 6-foot-6 junior from Lakewood, Ohio, has played every minute this season between the pipes, recording a 1.43 goals against average and a .773 save percentage with two shutouts.
After taking on the Dukes, the Rams will close non-conference play on Tuesday at Princeton before wrapping the regular season on Oct. 28 at Loyola Chicago.
