BRONX, N.Y. (Sept. 18, 2023) – Fresh off a lopsided victory over St. Bonaventure to begin Atlantic 10 action, the Fordham men's soccer team will head to Riverdale to take on Manhattan in the annual Battle of the Bronx on Tuesday night.
Kick-off from Gaelic Park is set for 6 p.m. A video stream of the game will not be available, but live stats can be found at GoJaspers.com.
Unbeaten after six games, the Rams (3-0-3) will look to carry over the positive momentum from Saturday's league opener against the Bonnies at Moglia Stadium. Fordham dominated every facet of the 3-0 victory, outshooting the Bonnies, 22-8, with a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. Corners were 11-0 in favor of the Rams.
Florian Deletioglu provided the offensive firepower, scoring twice for his second career brace. The senior from Munich, Germany, logged the game-winner in the 25
th minute off an assist from
Daniel D'Ippolito before his highlight-reel bicycle kick found the back of the net in the 58
th minute.
Nathan Simes and
Grady Kozak assisted on Deletioglu's final goal.
Timo Hummrich also scored for the Rams on Saturday, converting on a penalty kick in the 53
rd minute after
Kai Griese drew a foul in the box. Hummrich and Deletioglu share the team lead with four goals on the season, a total that is tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10.
Carter Abbott is coming off his second shutout of the season, making three saves in the final 26 minutes to preserve his 10
th career solo clean sheet. Through games played on Sunday, Abbott ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation with an .857 save percentage. The graduate transfer from Wisconsin also ranks third in the league and 24
th in the nation with a 0.70 goals against average.
The Rams' six-game unbeaten streak to start the season is the second of the
Carlo Acquista Era, as the team began 7-0-2 on its way to an A-10 title in the spring of 2021.
Manhattan (1-3-2) earned its first victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, beginning MAAC play with a lopsided 4-0 win over Canisius. Senior Sebastiano Musu scored twice for the Jaspers and on Monday was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Senior goalkeeper Danny DiMarco stopped all five Canisius shots he faced to record his first clean sheet of the season. On the year, the 2022 Third Team All-MAAC selection sports a 1.80 goals against average and a .667 save percentage.
Since 1980, Fordham is 27-10-2 against the Jaspers, including a 3-1 win last September at Coffey Field that featured a brace from Simes.
Following the Battle of the Bronx, the Rams will return to conference action on Saturday with a trip to Saint Louis.
