LORETTO, Pa.- Despite holding an undisputed advantage for a majority of the match, the Fordham men's soccer team will return from its first road trip of the season with a draw after tying Saint Francis, 1-1, on Sunday afternoon at Stokes Soccerplex.
With the result, the Rams remain unbeaten at 1-0-1. Saint Francis also moved to 1-0-1 with the draw. Last season, the Rams equaled an NCAA record with nine ties on the campaign.
Florian Deletioglu scored his second goal in as many games this season for the Rams, putting Fordham ahead 1-0 in the 50
th minute before the Red Flash knotted the score 19 minutes later.
Daniel D'Ippolito assisted on Deletioglu's marker for his first collegiate helper.
Fordham held a significant statistical advantage throughout the match, outshooting Saint Francis by a 16-10 margin, including a 10-3 edge in the opening half.
Goalkeeper
Carter Abbott made two saves in 89 minutes of action before being sent off with a red card in the final minute of action.
The Rams came out of the gate firing, but failed to gain an early advantage in the scoring column. Fordham recorded 10 of the afternoon's first 11 shots over the course of 38 minutes, including a pair of chances in the 13
th minute that required diving stops from Red Flash keeper Jordaine Jaeger, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year. Jaeger finished with five saves on the day.
Fordham wasted no time converting in the latter stanza, as Deletioglu broke the deadlock in the 50
th minute. The play began with a corner kick from
Sigfus Arnason that was headed out of the box by a Saint Francis defender. The clearing attempt found the foot of D'Ippolito, who fired off a right-footed shot that deflected off another Red Flash defender. The ball bounced favorably to a waiting Deletioglu, who buried it into the lower-right hand corner of the cage and put the Rams ahead 1-0.
Near the 65-minute mark, the field began to tilt in favor of the home side, resulting in a Saint Francis goal in the 69
th minute. This sequence also began with a corner kick, as Julian Jakopovic sent an in-swinger to the far side to Torren Aikens, who headed home his first of the season.
Both sides logged a shot on goal over the final 20 minutes of action, but neither team managed to find the back of the net and break the tie. Fordham proved adept at neutralizing corner kick chances during that span, limiting the threat from four Saint Francis corners in the final 15 minutes.
Fordham will return to action on Friday night when it hosts the University of Pennsylvania for a 7 p.m. match at Jack Coffey Field. The game will be broadcast on both ESPN+ and MSG.
