Bronx, N.Y. – (October 16, 2024) – The Atlantic 10 women's soccer schedule hits the stretch run this week and the Fordham Rams are right in the thick of the playoff hunt.
With three matches left on the schedule, Fordham (8-4-3, 3-2-2 A10) currently sits in fifth place with 11 points, behind Dayton (15), Saint Louis (14), Loyola Chicago (13), and Massachusetts (13). The Rams will see George Washington on Thursday and St. Bonaventure on Sunday before facing Dayton next week.
For Thursday, it will be a home game for the Rams, as both Fordham and George Washington are right in the Atlantic 10 playoff mix. The Revolutionaries (4-7-3, 2-3-1) are tied for the last playoff spot with seven points. Isabel Kelly leads GW with four goals and eight points, while Lauren Prentice and Alicia Window each had three goals and an assist. In net, Ainsley Lumpe has gotten the majority of the time, making 11 starts and posting a 1.80 goals against average.
Sunday will see the Rams hit the road, traveling to St. Bonaventure for a game with the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure is 1-11-2 on the year, 0-5-1 in the Atlantic 10 and will face Rhode Island on Thursday. The Bonnies have been limited to just six goals on the season, led by Evie Underhill with two.
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday will be the 22
nd all-time meeting between Fordham and George Washington with the Revolutionaries holding an 8-7-6 edge in the series. The teams have met the last two seasons with each decision being a draw at 0-0 in 2023 and 2-2 in 2022. Last season,
Kyla King made three saves to post her fourth career shutout.
On Sunday, the Rams venture to St. Bonaventure for the 28
th series match-up. Fordham is 18-7-2 all-time against the Bonnies, but it was St. Bonaventure that came away with a 3-1 win at Moglia Stadium last season, courtesy of a hat trick by Ami Komori.
LAST TIME OUT (10/13): Rhode Island scored twice in the second half, while Chelsea Mohammed made five saves, as URI spoiled the Fordham Rams' Senior Day with a 2-0 women's soccer decision at Moglia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
After a scoreless first half, Rhode Island cracked the scoreboard in the 50
th minute. Sam Hagerty played a cross from the far side to the near side for Lauren McDonald. McDonald floated a cross back to the center of the box for a header by Kaia Rice for her second goal of the season.
MacDonald was then the beneficiary of a through ball by Tierra Garniss in the 67
th minute, netting her fifth of the year, as she slotted a shot poast Fordham goalkeeper
Kyla King.
Fordham was unable to solve the puzzle that was Rhode Island goalkeeper Chelsea Mohammed, as she recorded five saves for her first shutout of the season. King also ended the match with five saves for Fordham.
TOP DRAWER SOCCER RECOGNITION: Top Drawer Soccer released its Midseason Top 100 Freshman List with Fordham's
Liina Tervo and
Julia Acosta among the top 100. Tervo was rated 22
nd with Acosta at 47.
CRACKIN' 100: For the first time since 2016, Fordham women's soccer is in the top 100 RPI in the NCAA, coming in at 80
th in the October 15
th report. Currently, six Atlantic 10 teams are in the NCAA Top 100 RPI.
FIRST YEARS TAKING CHARGE: Fordham's trio of freshmen,
Liina Tervo,
Julia Acosta, and
Addison Green are already making their mark and ready to etch their name in the Fordham record book.
A two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week, Tervo is currently the Atlantic 10's and Rams' leading scorer with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists. Her seven assists are just one shy of the Rams' single season record of eight, held by Corey Dunfey (2003) and Haley Lentsch (2006), while her 25 points have set the Fordham freshman record which was held by Sarah Hopkins (2003) and Kristina Maksuti (2011).
Acosta has earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week once this season and is second in the conference in shots on goal (30), while being tied for eighth in goals (6) and eighth in points (15). Both Acosta and Tervo are chasing the Fordham freshman records for goals in a season, held by Hopkins with 10 in 2003.
Green has a 8-0-3 record in 11 starts in goal with a 0.91 goals against average, 38 saves, and four shutouts. She ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in goals against average, fourth in save percentage (.792), and tied for fifth in shutouts. She has already surpassed the most wins for a freshman keeper at Fordham and tied the mark for shutouts. She is chasing Shannon Misiaszek's freshman marks of 1.40 GAA, 95 saves, and four shutouts, set in 2000.
ADDING A "C": Senior forward
Ryann Lucas has garnered the moniker of a team captain for the remainder of the season, joining junior
Ella Guth and senior
Abby Doyle as team captains. A former Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection and a two-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, she has appeared in 46 games for the Rams, making 25 starts. Lucas registered her first career two-goal game this season against Duquesne and has three assists for seven points.
WHO'S NEXT: After this week's matches, Fordham has one final league game on the schedule, as they host Dayton on Thursday, October 24
th at Moglia Stadium, beginning at 7:00 PM.
