By Pat Costello
Brianna Blunck eyes the ball as an Iona defender looks on. (Andrea Garcia/The Fordham Ram).
The women’s soccer team continued to roll through its non-conference schedule, defeating Iona and Hartford this past week.
Iona entered the match 6-0 this season and looked to keep its winning streak going. The Rams were not ready to give up on their own two-game winning streak and did everything in their ability to ensure a victory. In the seventh minute the Rams were awarded a penalty kick after Carlie Wagner was fouled in the box. Senior defender Nicole Bates stepped up and buried the kick for her first goal of the season. Just over 20 minutes later the Rams added another goal, this time off of the foot of freshman midfielder Maggie Roughley. Roughley gained possession of a rebound and promptly tucked a shot inside the left post, giving the Rams an insurance goal. The stellar Rams defense was able to prevent Iona from scoring for a 2-0 win.
The second game of the week, against the Hartford Hawks, caused some serious déjà vu, with both Roughley and Bates each scoring again. In the 42nd minute, Roughley corralled her own rebound and put it in the back of the net for her third goal of the season. In the 53rd minute Bates attempted to head the ball in off of a corner kick, but her shot was blocked to the ground. She gained control of the ball and back healed it through multiple Hartford defenders into the back of the net.
“Whenever I go up for a corner kick I expect myself to capitalize on the opportunity, Bates said. “Brooke (Salmon) played in a beautifully paced ball and I was fortunate enough to be on the other end of it.”
The Hawks battled back to cut the lead to 2-1, but Fordham’s defense was able to hold onto their lead and win the game, improving their record to 5-1-1.
The stellar play of these two women highlights one of the biggest keys to the Rams’ season: the stellar combination of youth, like Roughley, and experience, like Bates.
“Bates has also been playing very well. She’s grown so much as a player in the past three years, but the biggest growth has been from last season to this season,” coach Jessica Clinton said. “She’s a leader for this team. We expect her along with her classmates and teammates to put this team on their backs and carry it.”
One of the biggest surprises for the Rams has been the exceptional play of Roughley early in the season.
“Maggie has been terrific for the team lately and is really starting to break out of her shell,” Clinton said. “We knew at some point Maggie would develop and play well in our system, we just didn’t think it would be this fast!”
“She has had a huge impact on the team. Oftentimes, freshmen struggle with nerves and confidence during their first season at college, but that just isn’t the case for (her),” Bates said of her new teammate. “I cannot wait to see how she grows as a player throughout the rest of the season.”
Roughley knows that she is just one piece of a much bigger puzzle. “I could not have had much of my early success however without the help of my teammates and my coaches,” she said. “They are the ones who deserve credit.”
Bates, Roughley and the rest of the Rams will look to keep their win streak alive against the Hofstra Pride on Sunday at Jack Coffey Field. “[They] will be a great challenge. Hofstra is typically a top team in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) and last year they made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament,” Clinton said. With Roughley on offense and the Department of Defense protecting the net, the Rams will be set up nicely to defeat their opponent.
