BRONX, N.Y. – The 24
th ranked Fordham men's soccer team overcame an early deficit on Wednesday night, rallying to defeat Saint Joseph's, 2-1, at Moglia Stadium to remain unbeaten at home on the season.
With the win, Fordham improved to 6-1-3 on the campaign with a 3-1-0 record in Atlantic 10 play. Saint Joseph's fell to 3-8-1, 1-2-1 in conference action.
The Rams' dynamic scoring duo of
Timo Hummrich and
Florian Deletioglu once again provided the offensive fireworks on Wednesday night, as each recorded his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Sigfus Arnason picked up his second assist of the year on Deletioglu's game-winner.
Carter Abbott registered his fifth win of the campaign between the pipes, making one save in the process.
Jed Dixon,
Luis Puchol and
Adrian Valentine all played 90 minutes on the back line in front of Abbott.
Fordham fell into an early hole, as Luke Johnson found the back of the net in the fourth minute after corralling a long pass from Mikkel Andersen and converting on the breakaway opportunity.
It did not take the Rams long to level the count, as
Liam Salmon drew a foul in the box to set up a Hummrich penalty kick try in the 14
th minute. The graduate student promptly converted his chance, improving to 4-for-4 on the season from the spot.
From there, Fordham maintained an edge for the rest of the match. The Rams had two great looks to move ahead before halftime, but Saint Joe's managed to keep the score level. In the 31
st minute,
Kai Griese sent a free kick off the cross bar that hovered near the line before a defender managed to clear. In the 43
rd minute,
Shizu Yohena unleashed a rocket from 20 yards out that narrowly missed its target and sent the teams into halftime tied at one.
The Rams continued to rack up chances on the other side of the intermission, including a 50
th minute chance for Deletioglu that was stopped by a charging Trevor Jackson in goal for Saint Joe's.
Following a few more chances, Fordham finally broke the deadlock in the 68
th minute.
Nathan Simes began the sequence by playing a ball out to the left flank for Arnason. The Yale graduate shook his defender before threading a perfect pass on the ground to Deletioglu near the top of the box. The senior from Munich then unloaded on a right-footed rocket into the top-right 90, giving the Rams the 2-1 lead with which they would end the game.
On the night, Fordham outshot the Hawks, 16-3, and earned seven corners to the visitors' two. Saint Joe's did not register a shot attempt or a corner kick in the second half.
Fordham will return to action on Saturday night, traveling to Rhode Island for a 7 p.m. battle of the Rams. The game will air live on ESPN+.
