Bronx, N.Y. – (October 23, 2024) – After clinching a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Fordham women's soccer team hosts its regular season finale on Thursday night at Moglia Stadium, as they welcome the first place Dayton Flyers to the Bronx.
With a pair of victories last week, Fordham (10-4-3, 5-2-2 A10) currently sits in third place with 17 points, behind Dayton (21) and Saint Louis (20) with Massachusetts (16) and Loyola Chicago (13) in close pursuit for a possible home game in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 Championship. A team must finish in the top four of the standings to host.
The Rams will have their work cut out for them on Thursday, as they face the top team in the standings. The Flyers lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring with 41 goals (2.56/per game), while allowing the fourth-fewest at 0.94 per game.
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday will be the 26
th all-time meeting between Fordham and Dayton. The Flyers have dominated going 19-2-4 in the previous 25 meetings. Last season, the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. Fordham's only two wins in the series came in 2005 and 2016, both of which were at Moglia Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT (10/20): The Fordham women's soccer team clinched a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2019 on Sunday afternoon, after posting a 4-0 win over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at the Marra Athletic Complex in St. Bonaventure, N.Y. The win also secured the Rams' first 10-win season since 2016.
The Rams started the scoring in the 16
th minute on a free kick by
Lena Johnsen. The long ball found the head of
Abby Borchers in the box, deflecting the ball inside the left post for her sixth goal of the season.
Fordham quickly made it 2-0 in the 19
th minute on a strong rush attack.
Ella Guth started the run, getting a through ball to Borchers to the right side. Borchers then connected with
Julia Acosta on the run, who slipped a quick shot past the goalkeeper for her eighth goal of the season.
The offense kept rolling in the second half, scoring two more times for a 4-0 decision, as the Rams got a second goal from Borchers and one by
Liina Tervo.
Kyla King made two saves in goal for the Rams, posting her second consecutive shutout and sixth of her career.
BORCHERS NAMED A-10 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (10/21): The Atlantic 10 Conference released its weekly women's soccer awards on Monday with Fordham graduate student
Abby Borchers earning the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor. It is Borchers' first weekly award of the season.
In two conference matches, Borchers recorded three goals, two of which were game-winning markers, and an assist this week. She scored the opening goal of the game against George Washington in a 2-0 win on Thursday, and then had two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win at St. Bonaventure on Sunday. Borchers is third on the team in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Her seven goals are tied for ninth in the Atlantic 10, while being tied for third in game-winning goals (3) and eighth in points.
10 DUBS: With the team win at St. Bonaventure, the Rams reached the 10-win plateau for the eighth time in program history and first time since 2016.
MOVIN' ON UP: The team success on the field has also seen the 2024 Rams climb into some of the program's all-time best marks. The Rams have 35 team assists, which is tied for the second-best mark in team history, while having 33 goals (6
th) and 101 points (T-4
th), which also rank in the top ten.
Fordham also ranks in the top three in the Atlantic 10 in all three categories, leading the league in assists, while being second in points and third in goals. The Rams are also in the top 40 in the NCAA in those categories (23
rd – assists, 28
th – points, 37
th – goals).
THREE MUSKETEERS: Fordham's trio of graduate student
Abby Borchers and freshmen
Julia Acosta and
Liina Tervo have had an incredible 2024 season, and rate as one of the top scoring trios in program history. In total, the group has racked up 25 goals, 14 assists, and 64 points. Only the 2006 trio of Katie Sanchez, Leah Jerome and Haley Lentsch have scored more, accounting for 30 goals, 19 assists, and 79 points. The only other trios to reach 60 total points were Denise Corrado, Danielle Tanzi, and Christine Geres in 1996 (26-9-61) and Sarah Hopkins, Corey Dunfey, and Beth Purcell in 2003 (21-18-60).
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 92
nd in the October 22
nd report. Currently, five 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 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists. Her eight assists have tied the Rams' single season record, held by Corey Dunfey (2003) and Haley Lentsch (2006), while her 28 points have set the Fordham freshman record which was held by Sarah Hopkins (2003) and Kristina Maksuti (2011). She is also the ninth Ram to reach double figures in goals, tying the freshman record of 10, set by Hopkins (2003).
Acosta has earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week once this season and leads the conference in shots on goal (37), while being tied for seventh in goals (8) and seventh in points (19).
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.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams will have to wait a bit to find out their seeding and opponent in the Atlantic 10 Championship, as the rest of the league wraps up play on Sunday, October 27
th.
