BRONX, N.Y. – The Fordham men's soccer team will begin its quest for a fifth Atlantic 10 Championship on Saturday night when it heads to Pittsburgh for an A-10 quarterfinal matchup against Duquesne.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Rams will return to Rooney Field for the second time in a week. Last Saturday night, Fordham and Duquesne closed out the regular season with a 1-1 draw. Fordham took a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute, as
Luke Pompliano buried his third goal of the season off a cross from
Daniel D'Ippolito. Duquesne then pulled even in the 80th with a Christoffer Vie Angell goal off a Maxi Hopfer corner kick.
With the draw and wins by UMass and Dayton, Duquesne secured the no. 4 seed and Fordham fell to fifth in the final regular season conference standings. A win would have given Fordham the no. 2 seed. The Rams' 4-1-3 A-10 record is their best in a full season since going 5-2-1 in 2019,
Carlo Acquista's first year leading the Rams. The following season, the Rams went 3-0-2 against conference foes during the spring of 2021 before winning the A-10 and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2024 marks the 10th time in the last 11 seasons that Fordham has qualified for the A-10 Championship. Only Dayton (11) and Saint Louis (11) have made more appearances in the league's tournament during that stretch. The Rams have claimed three Atlantic 10 titles during that span.
Fordham is led offensively by D'Ippolito, who paces the Rams in both goals (10) and assists (7). Through games played on Monday, D'Ippolito ranks 10
th nationally in points (27), 20
th in goals and 33
rd in assists. He is the first Fordham player since Brian Borrhello (11) in 2002 to record double digit goals in a season.
Andre Insalaco and
Lukas Hackaa are tied for second on the team with four goals apiece. Both players have come on strong at the end of the season, as Hackaa netted three goals in his final three Atlantic 10 games while Insalaco scored twice in the Rams' Senior Night win over Loyola Chicago on Oct. 26. Last season, Hackaa won Horizon League Player of the Year honors at IUPUI after tallying seven goals and five assists.
Graduate student
Carter Abbott has spent the lion's share of the season in goal for Fordham, compiling a 1.13 goals against average and .741 save percentage in 13 appearances, all of which have been starts. The Rams are 7-3-3 in games started by the Wauwatosa, Wis., native.
The Rams boast an experienced backline in front of Abbott including graduate students
Thomas Gray,
Benji Jones and
Luca Bernoth, senior
Jed Dixon and junior
Ede Gramberg.
Duquesne finished the regular season with an overall record of 11-3-2, including a 5-2-1 mark in Atlantic 10 play. The Dukes went 8-0-1 at home with their only draw coming last week against the Rams. That 1-1 tie snapped an 11-game home winning streak for Duquesne.
The Dukes are led offensively by Hopfer, who paces the team in both goals (7) and assists (5).
Senior goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy started all 16 regular season games for the Dukes, posting a 0.90 goals against average and an .825 save percentage, the latter of which ranks eighth in the country. Nagy and the Dukes posted six shutouts during the regular season.
After the quarterfinal round, the four teams remaining in the Atlantic 10 Championship field will be reseeded for the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
