BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team opened the Atlantic 10 portion of its schedule in authoritative fashion on Saturday afternoon, beating St. Bonaventure, 3-0, at Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field.
With the win, Fordham (3-0-3, 1-0-0 A-10) remains undefeated through six games. St. Bonaventure fell to 2-3-1 (0-1-0 A-10) with the loss.
Senior midfielder
Florian Deletioglu provided the offensive firepower, recording the second brace of his collegiate career. The Munich, Germany, native opened the scoring in the 25
th minute with the game-winner before burying a bicycle kick in the 58
th. Deletioglu last scored twice in the same game during the fall of 2021 during a 3-2 win over Seton Hall.
All three of the Rams' goals came courtesy of Germans on Saturday, as
Timo Hummrich converted on a penalty kick in the 53
rd minute. Hummrich and Deletioglu now share the team lead with four goals apiece on the season.
Daniel D'Ippolito,
Grady Kozak and
Nathan Simes each picked up an assist on the afternoon.
Carter Abbott recorded his second clean sheet of the season, making three second-half saves to preserve the shutout. On the season, the Wisconsin transfer now boasts a 0.70 goals against average and an .857 save percentage.
Fordham threatened early and often on Saturday afternoon, as
Louis Lehr and Kozak sent shots just over the bar in the 11
th and 24
th minutes, respectively.
A short time later, the Rams broke through in the 25
th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Sitting just inside midfield Lehr played a ball into the box to D'Ippolito, who possessed and threaded a pass in traffic to Deletioglu, who finished to the near side to give Fordham the lead.
Ahead 1-0 at the intermission, Fordham quickly bolstered its advantage in the opening minutes of the second period.
In the 53
rd minute,
Kai Griese drew a foul in the box to set up Hummrich's third penalty kick opportunity of the season and, for the third time, Hummrich buried it.
Less than five minutes later, Deletioglu put an exclamation on the match with a highlight reel goal. Kozak began the scoring sequence down the right side, sending a cross into the box toward Simes. Simes headed it back out toward Deletioglu, who dropped a bicycle kick that froze the keeper and found the back of the net.
Abbott worked to preserve his clean sheet in the later stages of the match, making three stops over the final 26 minutes of play.
Fordham will return to action on Tuesday when it heads to Riverdale for the annual Battle of the Bronx against Manhattan. Kick-off from Gaelic Park is set for 6 p.m.
