Bronx, NY – (September 23, 2022) – The Fordham men’s soccer team hits the road this weekend as the Rams have a pair of away contests over the next few days. Fordham heads to St. Bonaventure for an Atlantic 10 match on Saturday, while heading to Rutgers for a Monday night showdown.
Fordham (2-1-4, 0-0-1 A10) is unbeaten in its last six matches, posting two wins and four draws, the last of which was a 2-2 tie with Rhode Island last Saturday. Nathan Sims and Florian Deletioglu both scored for the Rams against Rhode Island, as Fordham has netted at least two goals in four of the last five games.
St. Bonaventure (3-4-1, 0-1 A10) is coming off a 2-1 non-conference win over Niagara after dropping its Atlantic 10 opener at George Mason by the same score. Matthew Wrobel is the offensive leader for the Bonnies with four goals on the year. In net, Nicolas Pucci and Jules Dechert have split time with Pucci starting five of the eight matches, posting a 2-2-1 record and 12 saves.
Rutgers (4-1-2) will face off against Wisconsin on Friday before meeting the Rams on Monday. The Scarlet Knights began their conference play last week as well, posting a 4-2 win over Northwestern. Rutgers is led by the duo of MD Myers and Jackson Temple, as Myers has six goals and two assists on the year with Temple having four goals and four assists.
GAME COVERAGE:
Saturday – Fordham at St. Bonaventure – 5:00 PM – Live Video (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Follow on social media – Facebook/Twitter/InstaGram – @FordhamSoccer
Monday – Fordham at Rutgers – 7:00 PM – Live Video (BTN+) | Live Stats | Follow on social media – Facebook/Twitter/InstaGram – @FordhamSoccer
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 21stSt all-time meeting between Fordham and St. Bonaventure with the Rams holding a 12-6-2 edge in the series. The Rams have won the last five meetings dating back to 2010. The last meeting came in 2019 when Fordham took home a 1-0 double overtime win on a goal with four seconds left.
Fordham and Rutgers will match-up for the first time since 2012. Overall, this will be the 13th meeting with the Scarlet Knights having an 8-4 record against the Rams. It is also the first match-up for Fordham against its former head coach Jim McElderrywho coached the Rams from 2003-18, leading the Rams to two Atlantic 10 Championships and three NCAA berths.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Make sure to follow the Fordham Rams all season long on their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram – @FordhamSoccer
SIMES NAMED A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK (9/19): The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its men’s soccer weekly awards on Monday with Fordham’s Nathan Sims (Wellington, New Zealand) being named Rookie of the Week for the second straight week.
Simes notched his team-leading fifth goal of the season on Saturday night in the Rams’ 2-2 draw with Rhode Island to start conference play. He became the first Fordham freshman to score five goals in a season since Janos Loebe in 2015.
He is currently tied with Massachusetts’ Alec Hughes for the Atlantic 10 lead in goals scored, while also being tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (2) and tied for second in points (11).
LAST TIME OUT: Fordham scored twice in the opening five minutes of the contest, but URI’s Patrick Agyemang also scored twice in the match, as the “Battle of the Rams” between Fordham and Rhode Island ended in a 2-2 draw at Jack Coffey Field on Saturday night. . It was the opening Atlantic 10 contest for both teams.
It took just three minutes and 47 seconds for Fordham (2-1-4, 0-0-1 A10) to net the opening goal of the contest. A long ball from the defensive end was headed forward by Florian Deletioglu to Jakob Gesien. Gesien returned the favor, as Deletioglu fired the return pass into the top left corner for his second goal of the season.
Only 1:17 later, Fordham made it 2-0 off a set piece. Ben Shepherd took the initial corner from the far side of the field for a header shot by Timo Hummrich. That shot was stopped by Conrado Duhour was able to deflect the ball back in front for a bicycle kick by Nathan Sims that found the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
Rhode Island (3-0-4, 0-0-1 A10) cut the lead in half at the 23rd minute, as Fordham was called for a handball in the box, awarding a penalty kick to URI. Patrick Agyemang converted on the kick to make it a 2-1 score.
The match stayed that way until the 84th minute, when Agyemang netted his second goal of the game on a header off an Edvin Akselsen corner kick to leave the score as a 2-2 draw.
For the game, Fordham goalkeeper Demetri Skoumbakis made three saves, while Rhode Island’s Max Hinke posted five saves.
NEWCOMERS SHOWING OUT: Fordham has seen the newest additions to the roster for the 2022 season contribute immediately. Newcomers have accounted for eight of the 10 goals on the season, led by freshman Nathan Sims with five. The Rams also have goals from Timo Hummrich, Ben Shepherdand Paolo Primavera on the year.
The Rams also have a newcomer in goal Demetri Skoumbakis, who has solidified himself as Fordham’s top goalkeeper. Through seven matches, the transfer from LIU has two shutouts, a 1.14 goals against average, and 23 total saves.
RAMSES CHALLENGE: As a part of a new fundraising challenge this season, fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each goal the men’s soccer team scores this season. Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.
WHO’S NEXT: Following this weekend, the Rams return home on Saturday, October 1Stfor a home conference match against Massachusetts for Alumni Night, beginning at 7:00 PM.