Bronx, N.Y. – (September 25, 2024) – It's week two of Atlantic 10 women's soccer action and the Fordham Rams are on the road for both of their matches this week. Fordham starts the week at UMass on Thursday afternoon, while heading to Richmond on Sunday afternoon.
Fordham sits at 6-2-2 overall on the season, 1-0-1 in the Atlantic 10 after picking up a win over George Mason and a draw with Loyola Chicago last week. The Rams continue to be one of the top scoring teams in the league, sitting as one of five Atlantic 10 teams with at least 20 goals scored.
UMass is having another solid season with a record of 6-3-1 overall, 1-1 in the A-10. The Minutewomen are currently ninth in the United Soccer Coaches East Region rankings for the fourth straight week, and boast one of the top goalkeepers in the league in Bella Mendoza. Mendoza has six shutouts in ten matches and has a 0.70 goals against average.
Richmond is 3-4-2 this season with a 1-1 mark in the conference, following a 4-0 loss at Dayton. The Spiders also have a top notch goalkeeper in McKenna Dalfonso, having played every minute in goal for Richmond. She holds a 1.22 goals against average with three shutouts and 35 saves.
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Minutewomen have met 26 times previously with UMass holding an 18-7-1 advantage. The Minutewomen have won five of the last six meetings, which includes a 2-0 victory in the Bronx last season. Fordham's last victory came in 2022 in Amherst, a 1-0 decision on a goal by Maura Murphy.
Sunday will be the 18
th all-time meeting between Fordham and Richmond, who have not played each other since 2021. The Spiders hold a 10-6-1 edge in the series, winning the last two meetings in 2019 and 2021. Fordham's last win was a 1-0 double overtime win in the Bronx in 2018.
LAST TIME OUT (9/22): It was a crazy finish on Sunday afternoon at Moglia Stadium between the Fordham Rams and the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago, as the Rams'
Riley Carroll scored in the 89
th minute to tie the game, leaving the match as a 2-2 draw.
Fordham got on the board first in the tenth minute, as
Julia Acosta's free kick cross found
Liina Tervo for the deflection into the net from six yards out. It was her team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The game then took a turn in the 20
th minute when Loyola Chicago's Roos van Roekel was red carded for denying a goal scoring opportunity on
Abby Borchers, leaving the Ramblers down a player for the remainder of the match. Fordham peppered Loyola Chicago goalkeeper Allison Deardorff with shots in the next few minutes looking to increase the lead, which included two shots from Acosta that were pushed aside by Deardorff.
The Ramblers then tied the game with an aggressive push in the 33
rd minute. Faith Grisdale got a cross in the center of the box and knocked a shot toward goal that was defended away by a Fordham defender. The ball though came right back to Grisdale, as she knocked in the rebound to tie the game.
Both goalkeepers, Deardorff and Fordham's
Addison Green made saves and plays to keep the score knotted at one until the 80
th minute. Jaimee Cibulka picked up the ball in the defensive end, running almost 70 yards toward the box. She got around a defender and snuck a shot inside the left post for a 2-1 advantage.
Fordham then got a reprieve in the 89
th minute, picking up the game-tying goal from
Riley Carroll from about 20 yards out.
Ella Guth put a through ball ahead to Tervo, who chased the ball down to the endline. Tervo crossed the ball back to Carroll at the top of the box, who fired a shot inside the right post for her first of the season.
The Rams did have a final opportunity to win the game in the final seconds, but the play was called offside as time expired before the ball crossed the line. In net, Deardorff had 11 saves with Green having four.
TERVO NAMED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME (9/22): The Atlantic 10 Conference released its weekly women's soccer awards on Monday with Fordham freshman
Liina Tervo earning the league's Rookie of the Week honor for the second time this season.
In two conference matches, Tervo posted two goals and an assist this week, starting with a goal in the Rams' 3-0 win at George Mason on Thursday. Then on Sunday, Tervo scored the opening goal of the game against Loyola Chicago and then assisted on the game-tying goal in the 89
th minute to get a 2-2 draw.
FIRST YEARS TAKING CHARGE: Ten matches into the 2024 season, three Fordham 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 Rams' leading scorer with six goals and seven assists for 19 points. She ranks first in the Atlantic 10 in assists and second in total points. Her seven assists are also just one shy of the Rams' single season record of eight, held by Corey Dunfey (2003) and Haley Lentsch (2006). Acosta has earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week once this season and leads the conference in shots on goal (22). She also ranks ninth in the league in goals (5) and points (11). Both are chasing the Fordham freshman records for goals and points in a season. Sarah Hopkins holds the goals mark with 10 in 2003, while the points mark of 23 is held by Hopkins and Kristina Maksuti (2011).
Green has a 6-0-2 record in eight starts in goal with a 1.00 goals against average, 24 saves, and three shutouts. She ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 in goals against average, ninth in saves, and tied for fifth in shutouts. She has already surpassed the most wins for a freshman keeper at Fordham, and is chasing Shannon Misiaszek's freshman marks of 1.40 GAA, 95 saves, and four shutouts, set in 2000.
GOOD START: For the third straight season, the Rams have begun Atlantic 10 play with at least four points on opening week. The Rams defeated George Mason, 3-0, in their first A-10 matchup, which was followed by a draw with Loyola Chicago.
WHO'S NEXT: After this week's matches, Fordham will next be in action on Thursday, October 3
rd, when the Rams host Duquesne at 7:00 PM at Moglia Stadium, followed by a road trip to Davidson on Sunday, October 6
th at 1:00 PM.
