DAYTON, OHIO – The fifth-seeded Fordham men's soccer team fell to second-seeded Dayton, 2-0, in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Championship on Wednesday night at Baujan Field.
The win marked Dayton's sixth straight since losing to Fordham, 4-2, at home on Oct. 12. Dayton (12-2-3) entered the match ranked fifth nationally in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll and 11
th in Wednesday's update of the NCAA RPI. They will host Saint Louis on Sunday at 12 p.m. in the A-10 Championship match.
Fordham (8-5-5) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m. The 48-team field will be revealed on Monday at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Rams entered the day ranked 28
th in the RPI.
Dayton outshot Fordham, 30-13, on the evening, but shots on goal were only 6-5 in favor of the Flyers.
The Flyers got on the board early, as Hjalti Sigurdsson headed home a Martin Bakken corner kick in the fifth minute of play.
Just a few minutes later, Fordham nearly netted the equalizer, but
Thomas Gray's header bounced straight down off the cross bar and managed to stay on the innocuous side of the line.
Dayton threatened several times over the remainder of the first half, but Fordham managed to keep the Flyers off the scoresheet again before intermission. Shots were 16-3 in favor of the home side at halftime.
Dayton doubled its lead in the 69
th minute, as Ethan Sassine scored from distance. Felix Buabang picked up an assist on the play.
Daniel D'Ippolito, who earlier in the day earned Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year honors, led the Rams with five shots. Gray and
Louis Lehr tallied two apiece.
2024 marked the eighth time in the last 11 seasons that Fordham advanced to at least the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship.
