Bronx, N.Y. – (September 4, 2024) – After suffering its first loss of the season on Sunday, the Fordham women's soccer team looks to get back on track, as the Rams continue a five-match road stretch this week.
The Rams (3-1-1) opened the road swing with a draw with Wagner and a loss to Fairfield, snapping the team's opening win streak at three matches. Fordham now heads to Stonehill for a 6:00 PM match on Thursday, while traveling to Yale on Sunday. The time for the Stonehill match is a change from the original schedule.
Stonehill (1-4) is coming off a difficult 8-0 loss at Dartmouth on Sunday after winning its first game of the year against Quinnipiac last Thursday. Skyhawks' freshman Martha Ford will be a player to watch, as she was named the NEC Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, as she scored the game-winning goal against Quinnipiac. Kelsey Bello has started all five games in goal, totaling 30 saves.
Yale (2-1) enters the week after posting consecutive wins over St. John's and Oregon State. The Bulldogs will face Stony Brook prior to the Fordham match on Sunday. Ellie Rappole has a goal and two assists to lead the offense, while Kyla Holmes has a pair of shutouts in goal to her credit.
SERIES HISTORY: The Rams and Skyhawks have met twice previously with each team having a win. Stonehill earned a win back in 1994, while Fordham won the match-up last season at Moglia Stadium by a 2-0 score. The Rams received goals from Kaitlin Murphy and
Lena Johnsen in that contest.
For Sunday, this is the fifth meeting between Fordham and Yale with the Bulldogs having won each of the previous four meetings, which included a 4-1 win at Moglia Stadium last year.
ABOUT LAST WEEK…: After winning their first three matches, the Rams notched a 1-1 draw with Wagner last Thursday, while having their first setback at Fairfield by a 5-0 score on Sunday.
Abby Borchers had the Rams' goal against Wagner.
WHAT A START!: The Rams opened the season at 3-0 for just third time in team history, matching the 2004 and 2010 seasons.
THAT WAS FAST: With Fordham scoring just 40 seconds into its first match of the season, that goal was the second fastest marker score in an opening contest this season. The only marker that was quicker came from South Carolina's Katie Shea Collins, who netted her first of three goals against Furman in only 34 seconds.
THAT WAS FAST (PART II): Freshman
Liina Tervo turned in a rare hat trick for the Fordham Rams against UAlbany on August 25
th, scoring three goals in just six minutes and 29 seconds. It was the second fastest hat trick in the NCAA this season with only Tarleton State's Lauren Grissom scoring one faster in five minutes and 10 seconds against Austin College on August 22
nd. Additionally, Tervo's hat trick was the fastest in Fordham history, bettering the six minutes and 49 seconds by Haley Lentsch in 2006 against Temple.
RARE AIR: Across all of college soccer, the international flavor continues to make its mark, and having an international coaching staff is also becoming a trend with Fordham at the forefront. Three of the Rams' coaches,
Magnus Nilerud (Sweden),
Jonathan Macadam (Scotland), and
David Flower (UK) all got their start overseas. Fordham is one of seven schools to have at least three international coaches on staff, joining Arizona State (four), Vanderbilt, Indiana, Purdue, Louisiana Monroe, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
WHO'S NEXT: The Rams conclude their road swing on Thursday, September 12
th at Columbia for a 7:00 PM match.
