BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team will close out its regular season on Saturday afternoon in The Windy City when it takes on Loyola Chicago.
The match, which is set to kick off at 3 p.m. ET, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Both Fordham (6-2-7, 3-2-2 Atlantic 10) and Loyola Chicago (7-2-4, 3-1-3 Atlantic 10) have been guaranteed spots in the A-10 Tournament, which will begin next weekend at campus sites. Both teams still have plenty to play for; however, as either the Rams or the Ramblers can secure a top-four finish and an opening round home game with a result and a couple of breaks. Fordham currently sits in sixth with 11 points, one point back of Loyola Chicago in fifth and two points back of UMass in fourth. There exists a possibility that as many as five teams, including Fordham, could finish in a tie for second place if results break a certain way. The complete A-10 Championship bracket will be released on Saturday night following the conclusion of the day's action.
The Rams enter their regular season finale having drawn with each of their last four opponents. On Tuesday night, the Rams grabbed an early lead on the road before Princeton responded with two unanswered goals. Fordham pulled even in the waning minutes, as
Grady Kozak netted his first goal of the season off a beautiful feed from
Sigfus Arnason in the 88
th minute to secure a 2-2 draw. Just a few days prior against Duquesne, Fordham's
Daniel D'Ippolito equalized in the 85
th minute, as the Rams grabbed a crucial A-10 point, 1-1, against the Dukes. The weekend before, Fordham battled UMass to a 1-1 draw on the road after earning a 1-1 result against then-No. 18 Hofstra on Oct. 10.
In addition to assisting on the equalizer in the Rams' most recent draw on Tuesday, Arnason also added the team's first goal on a stunning free kick from just outside the box. It marked the second time in his long and distinguished collegiate career that the Yale graduate transfer scored and assisted on a goal in the same match; the first also came at Princeton during his freshman season in 2019.
Two Rams,
Florian Deletioglu and
Timo Hummrich, rank among the top 10 in the conference in scoring. Deletioglu is tied for third with seven markers so far while Hummrich is tied for eighth with six. Deletioglu's five goals against A-10 opponents are tied for the league lead in conference play.
Carter Abbott (0.98) is one of four goalkeepers in the league who boasts a goals against average under one. Tuesday's match marked only the second time this season that he surrendered more than one goal in a single game and the first time that both goals came without the aid of a penalty kick.
Loyola Chicago welcomes the Rams on the heels of four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2). The tear began with a 3-0 win over La Salle on Oct. 4 before a 3-3 draw with Dayton the following weekend. After picking up a 3-1 win over then-No. 25 Saint Louis on Oct. 14, the Ramblers played Rhode Island to a scoreless draw last weekend in Kingston.
The Ramblers boast a balanced offensive attacked with three players (Oscar Dueso, Markus Maurer and Petar Janjic) having scored five goals apiece this season. John Gates ranks second on the team in total points having logged three goals and dishing out five assists on the campaign.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Aidan Crawford has played a majority of the team's minutes this season between the pipes, sporting a 0.96 goals against average and a .676 save percentage.
Fordham and Loyola Chicago will meet for the fourth time in the history of the two programs and for the second time as Atlantic 10 opponents on Saturday afternoon. The Ramblers currently enjoy a 3-0 lead in the series, including a 3-2 win in last year's season finale at Jack Coffey Field. Their two previous wins against Fordham came in 2015 and 1997.
