BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team will return to action on Saturday night when it heads to No. 23 VCU for a matchup against the reigning Atlantic 10 regular season champs. Kick-off from Sports Backers Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Fordham (3-3-3, 0-1-1 A-10) will face its third ranked opponent in just 10 games this season when it takes the field in Richmond. The Rams secured a scoreless draw against then-No. 17 Hofstra to open the season before a tough-luck draw to then-No. 24 Penn on Sept. 9 in Philadelphia. Fordham has earned at least one result against a ranked foe in each of the last three seasons, but is looking for its first win against a top-25 team since the regular season finale of 2017, when the Rams beat No. 25 UMass, 3-2, before advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
In its last match, Fordham suffered its first loss at home in nearly two years, surrendering a late two-goal lead to UMass on Saturday night at Moglia Stadium. The Rams scored in the fifth an 22nd minutes before UMass answered in the 68th, 88th and 90th minutes to steal a road victory. The result snapped an 11-match unbeaten streak at home for Fordham, which had not lost a Moglia Stadium since Oct. 29, 2022.
Ede Gramberg scored against the Minutemen, finding the back of the net for the first time as a Ram. Gramberg logged six goals last season as a sophomore at Omaha. Gramberg's goal was assisted by Benji Jones and Daniel D'Ippolito, the latter of whom provided the Rams' other tally. It marked D'Ippolito's team-leading sixth goal of the season, a total that ranks second in the conference and 21st in the nation. Lukas Hackaa recorded the assist on D'Ippolito's latest goal.
No. 23 VCU, the conference's reigning regular season champion and preseason favorite, enters the match with a record of 4-2-3 after drawing with American, 1-1, on Tuesday night. The Richmond Rams boasts a pair of ranked wins on the season, defeating then-No. 15 Wake Forest, 2-1, to open the season before recording a 2-0 victory over then-No. 15 Penn on Sept. 16. VCU has played only one A-10 match after its contest at Dayton scheduled for last Saturday night was postponed due to inclement weather.
Junior forward Papa Toure leads the team in scoring with three goals on the season while a trio of Rams (Andrey Salmeron, Andres Rodriguez and Gerardo Castillo) have found the back of the net two times apiece.
Fordham enters the weekend with a 2-4-5 record all-time against VCU. VCU took the last meeting between the two teams, 1-0, in the opening round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Tournament in Richmond.
