PRINCETON, N.J. (Oct. 24, 2023) – Much in the same way it did on Saturday night against Duquesne, the Fordham men's soccer team dug deep and erased a late deficit to secure a 2-2 draw against Princeton on Tuesday night at Roberts Stadium.
With the draw, Fordham's fourth straight, the Rams moved to 6-2-7 on the season. Princeton stands at 4-6-4 following the tie.
Graduate student
Sigfus Arnason enjoyed his best outing as a Ram, scoring the night's opening goal before assisting on the equalizer in the 88
th minute. That late tally came off the foot of senior
Grady Kozak who, like Arnason, tallied his first Fordham goal on Tuesday night. Arnason and Kozak became the ninth and 10
th Rams, respectively, to score a goal this season.
Arnason scored and assisted in the same match for the second time in his long and distinguished collegiate career. His first such outing also came at Princeton on Nov. 16, 2019, during a 2-1 win for Yale.
Despite allowing two goals in a game for just the second time this season,
Carter Abbott matched a season-high with six saves.
The Rams needed just one chance to score the game's first goal, as Arnason converted on the game's opening shot attempt late in the 10
th minute.
Liam Salmon drew a foul just outside the semicircle at the top of the box, setting up a dangerous free kick try for the visitors. Arnason stepped over the ball and curled a left-footed rocket into the top-right corner of the cage, freezing the keeper and giving the Rams the early lead.
It took Princeton less than 90 seconds to pull even, as Daniel Ittycheria, the Ivy League's second leading scorer, found the back of the net for the ninth time this season in the 12
th minute.
The remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth affair, as was the start of the latter stanza.
Between the 65
th and 70
th minute, Fordham let loose a flurry of chances, as the Rams recorded six shots during that stretch but were unable to break the deadlock.
Despite the field being titled in Fordham's favor, it was Princeton that grabbed the lead in the 74
th minute, as Walker Gillespie corralled a long pass that bounced between two defenders and chipped it over the head of
Carter Abbott.
The Rams frantically tried for the equalizer over the next several minutes before finally breaking through in the 88
th.
Luis Puchol booted a free kick from his own end into the middle of the field, where a scrum eventually ricocheted the ball out to Aranson on the left side near the top of the box. Arnason sent a cross into the box for Kozak, who possessed and took a step to his left to shake his defender before burying it into the back of the cage.
Fordham, which has already clinched a spot in the 2023 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship, will close out its regular season on Saturday afternoon at Loyola Chicago. Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
