The Rams held a ceremony to honor this year’s seniors before a 1-0 loss to George Mason on Sunday. Kellyn Simpkin/The Ram
By Drew Casey
The women’s soccer team entered this past weekend needing to win all three of its final matches to qualify for the A-10 tournament. The Rams started the weekend off strong, but ultimately came up just short.
On Friday night, which was also Cancer Awareness Night at Jack Coffey Field, the Rams battled the Saint Joseph’s Hawks. The first half featured a lot of open play and scoring opportunities, but neither team was able to net a goal. The second half was more of the same in the goal department, but the Rams had the better offensive chances. The match was scoreless after 90 minutes of regulation and headed to overtime.
Fordham did not waste any time in the first extra period. Just 17 seconds into the first overtime, Maria Lorena Canicatti went bar down to give Fordham the 1-0 victory. The Whitestone, New York native’s shot from 35 yards out hit the cross bar and ricocheted into the net for the goal.
“They stuck to the game plan,” coach Jessica Clinton said. “They played what we had asked them to, and Saint Joe’s is a good team. Right now they’re top five within the conference, so for us to get that in whatever amount of time, we’ll take it.”
Less than 48 hours later, the team closed out its home regular season schedule. Heading into the match, coach Clinton stressed carrying over the high energy and belief from Friday night’s win.
Prior to kickoff, seniors Kelsey Dougherty Howard, Maria Swift, Jessica Melendez, Canicatti, Ally White, Jessica Widmann, Kristina Maksuti and Kate McDonnell were honored as part of a Senior Day ceremony.
Following the ceremony, the team took on the George Mason Patriots. Neither team scored in the first 90 minutes of a fairly tight game and overtime was necessary.
In overtime, Fordham found itself on the wrong end of a quick golden goal. Just 89 seconds into the extra session, Liz Hodges netted her fourth goal of the season to give George Mason the 1-0 win. White got two hands on the shot from the right side of the box, but the ball trickled through and narrowly crossed the goal line.
With the loss, the Rams can no longer advance to the A-10 tournament. However, they can still attempt to bring their high level of play at home this season to their final road game. The team is 5-3-1 at home this year, but just 2-6-0 on the road. Throughout the season, the team has been working on improving its play away from Jack Coffey Field.
“It’s always good to be back at home and playing on our surface,” coach Clinton said following Friday’s win. “Playing at home, having our fans, having a good crowd: it’s always good to be back.”
The team wraps up its season on Friday night in Olean, New York against St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies are currently 2-4-0 in the A-10, and the Rams will attempt to spoil their final push to make the conference tournament.
