Sept. 8, 2011
Bronx, N.Y. -
The Fordham women's soccer team looks for its third straight victory on Friday against crosstown rival, the Manhattan College Jaspers at Gaelic Park, beginning at 7:00 PM. The Rams have gotten the better of the Jaspers as of late, winning the last three match-ups.
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SERIES HISTORY: Fordham leads the all-time series with the Jaspers with an 11-6-1 record, which includes a 4-0-1 mark in the last five meetings. The Rams earned a 2-1 overtime victory over Manhattan last season at Jack Coffey Field, when Mariella Romano headed in the game-winner in the 105th minute.
Manhattan is the only opponent that Fordham has played every year since becoming a varsity sport in 1993.
LAST TIME OUT: In an extremely tense contest that saw four red cards handed out, the Fordham women's soccer team still found its way to a 3-1 victory over the Delaware State Hornets at Alumni Stadium in Dover, Delaware.
The Rams got on the board first in the 10th minute, when Kristina Maksuti put in a chip pass from the left side to an oncoming Annie Worden. Worden took a 25-yard shot, blasting it into the heart of the goal for her first goal of the season.
The score remained at 1-0 at the half, as the Rams dominated play with an 8-1 shot advantage.
Fordham made it a 2-0 game just 2:12 into the second half, as Jessica Widmann picked up the ball from her defensive midfield position and ran toward the midfield stripe. She then split two defenders hitting Maksuti at the top of the 18-yard box. Maksuti took a dribble and fired home her team-leading fourth goal of the season to the bottom right corner.
Delaware State closed the gap to 2-1 in the 58th minute, when Randall Marshall scored her first goal of the season from five yards out.
Following the Hornets' goal, tensions then got heated after a Delaware State foul. The meeting of minds eventually turned into four red cards being handed out by the referee, two to each team, as Fordham's Cara Rooney and Maksuti were red carded along with Jeanette Salgado and Lauren Price for the Hornets.
With each team down two players, play opened up once again for Fordham, as the Rams regained their two-goal lead in the 70th minute. Mariella Romano found Kaitlin Abrams on the back post, off a corner kick, which Abrams headed home for her second goal of the season.
Fordham finished the game with a 16-8 shot advantage as well as a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
In net, Fordham's Rachel Suther made three saves in the victory, while Katelyn Koslosky was very busy at the Delaware State end, making nine saves.
MAKSUTI NAMED A-10 CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (9/6): Fordham University freshman forward Kristina Maksuti was named Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Co-Rookie of the Week, it was announced today by the conference. This is Maksuti's first career Atlantic 10 weekly honor.
In two games, Maksuti tallied five points last week, netting a pair of game-winning goals. She scored the game-winner in a 4-3 overtime comeback victory over Cornell on Friday, and then tallied the eventual game winner and an assist in a 3-1 win at Delaware State on Sunday.
Overall, Maksuti leads the team in scoring with four goals and two assists for 10 points in five games.
EARLY IMPACT: Just five games into her Fordham career, freshman Kristina Maksuti has proven herself to be a player that opposing team's always have to keep an eye on. She leads the team with 18 shots, 10 points, and four goals, which includes two game-winners and two at Seton Hall in the season opener. She is the first Fordham freshman to record a multi-goal game in her first career game.
Since 1999, Fordham has had six freshmen score in their first career goal in their first career game. The last was Katie Sanchez in 2005 against Iona. Other freshmen to score in their first game were Corey Dunfey, Lena Daragjati, and Katie Noon in 2002 against St. Peter's, and Beth Kitson and Erin Safarik in 1999 against St. John's.
Fellow freshmen Maria Lorena Canicatti and Megan Poiesz have also found the scoring column this season with Canicatti scoring a goal and an assist, while Poiesz netted her first career goal at Rutgers.
