ST. LOUIS – The shorthanded Fordham men's soccer team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten on Saturday night, dropping a 2-1 decision to defending Atlantic 10 Champion Saint Louis at Hermann Stadium.
With the loss, Fordham moved to 4-1-3 on the year with a 1-1 mark in conference play. Saint Louis improved to 3-3-1 (1-0-1 A-10) with a perfect 3-0 mark at home.
Trailing 1-0 after a successful penalty kick from the Billikens' Christian Buendia in the 19
th minute, the Rams pulled even in the 58
th minute on
Daniel D'Ippolito's third goal of the season.
Adrian Valentine and
Florian Deletioglu picked up assists on the play.
Less than 10 minutes later in the 66
th, the tide turned in favor of the Billikens when
Louis Lehr was sent off with a straight red card.
Playing with only 10 men, the Rams held even for nearly 10 minutes before CJ Coppola saw his close-range shot deflect off a Fordham defender and into the back of the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
In search of a late equalizer, Fordham threatened numerous times in the closing minutes, including a
Florian Deletioglu header off a
Grady Kozak cross that narrowly missed the far post in the 85
th minute.
With only 10 seconds remaining in regulation,
Sigfus Arnason sent a right-footed shot from distance that nearly curled into the lower-left hand corner of the cage, but Saint Louis' Jeremi Abonnel came up with the diving stop to preserve his team's win.
Fordham will return to action on Saturday evening when it plays host to Davidson. Kick-off from Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and MSG Network.
