BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team will close out the home portion of its regular season schedule on Saturday night when it welcomes Loyola Chicago to the Bronx. Kick-off from Moglia Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
In addition to the contest with numerous Atlantic 10 postseason implications, Saturday will also serve as the program's annual Senior Night and Alumni Night.
Head Coach Carlo Acquista and the Fordham Athletic Department will honor the contributions of all Rams in their final year of eligibility with a pregame ceremony. Players and their families are also invited to attend a special postgame reception celebrating these Rams for all their accomplishments in maroon and white.
Beginning at 5 p.m. underneath the Moglia Stadium bleachers, Fordham will welcome home the Rams of yesteryear with a pregame alumni reunion. Former players wishing to attend the reception are strongly encouraged to RSVP here.
With just two regular season games remaining, Saturday's contest will prove crucial to the Rams' postseason hopes. With a win against the Ramblers (4-8-2, 2-3-1), Fordham would clinch a spot in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship. The Rams occupy the fourth spot in the standings entering the weekend. At season's end, the top eight teams in the conference standings earn postseason berths with the top four teams hosting a quarterfinal match on either Nov. 8 or Nov. 9.
Fordham (6-4-4, 3-1-2) enters the weekend on the heels of a four-game unbeaten streak in A-10 play. The Rams began the streak with a win over then-No. 23 VCU in Richmond on Oct. 5 before erasing an early deficit to draw with Saint Louis, 2-2, at home on Oct. 9. Fordham then turned around and knocked off Dayton, 4-2, in Ohio before defeating George Washington, 3-1, at home this past Saturday.
In the team's most recent outing, the Rams dropped their non-conference finale to Princeton, 1-0, at Moglia Stadium on Tuesday night. It marked the first time this season that Fordham had been shut out in a losing effort.
Fordham has been paced offensively this season by junior Daniel D'Ippolito, whose nine goals and six assists both lead the team. Through games on Tuesday, D'Ippolito is tied for 18th nationally in scoring and 32nd in assists. His 24 points lead the Atlantic 10 and are tied for eighth in all of Division I. D'Ippolito's nine goals through 14 games are the most by a Fordham player since Jannik Loebe scored nine times in 23 games during the Rams' run to the 2017 NCAA Quarterfinals. The last Fordham player to reach double digit goals in a season was Brian Borrhello (11) in 2002.
Loyola Chicago enters the contest riding a three-game winning streak, defeating VCU and La Salle each by a score of 2-1 before beating NAIA Olivet Nazarene, 4-1, in its non-conference finale on Tuesday.
The Ramblers are led by junior forward Hugo Urdiales, who has scored five goals and assisted on three others this season. The Santander, Spain, native has found the back of the net in each of Loyola's last three A-10 matches, including the game winner at VCU.
Redshirt sophomore Aidan Crawford has started 12 games in goal this year for the Ramblers, compiling a 1.50 goals against average to go along with a .609 save percentage.
Fordham and Loyola Chicago will meet for the fifth time in the history of the two programs on Saturday night with the Ramblers holding a 4-0-0 lead in the series. Two of those meetings have come since the Ramblers joined the A-10 prior to the 2022-23 academic year, including a 1-0 Loyola win in the 2023 regular season finale.
Fordham will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a trip to No. 23 Duquesne.
