The Women’s Soccer team has been nothing short of exceptional early in the season.
Following a loss in the A-10 Championships last year, the ladies came into this year more focused than ever. “Losing in the championship was heartbreaking, but I was so proud of my team and how far we made it,” senior forward Nicol Natale said. “We showed up to the spring season ready to work harder than ever to put ourselves in the best position to bring it home this fall.”
The first match of the season pitted the Rams against Big East powerhouse DePaul. “We schedule games and opponents like the Chicago trip to test ourselves,” coach Jessica Clinton said. “It’s a great measuring tool in finding our strengths and improvement areas.”
The Rams took the early lead in the game, coming off of the foot of junior midfielder Clare Paoletta. Fordham was able to hold off the Blue Demon offense until the 80th minute, when DePaul was awarded a penalty kick that they converted to knot the game at one goal apiece. The game went into two overtimes without either team being able to penetrate the others defense and eventually ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Rams continued their Chicago series with a game against Loyola Chicago. The Rams held the Ramblers scoreless, taking a 1-0 victory, their first of the year. After dropping a game to Princeton 3-1, the Rams made a ferocious comeback, winning their next two games. They put away a very good Seton Hall team by a score of 2-0. They returned to the Bronx on a high note by defeating city rival Manhattan College 3-0, with one of the goals coming off of the foot of Natale.
Natale cites their team chemistry as the reason for their early success “Our biggest strength as a team is our connection as a whole. Every time we step on the field, we play for each other,” Natale said. “Our ability to always be on the same page and battle as one gets us through tough times and wins us games. It’s what separates us from most teams.”
Clinton shared her sentiment, “This is a group that is willing to do the extra work because they enjoy doing it and enjoy spending time with each other. They play for each other and compete hard in practice to make themselves and others better,” she said.
The ladies knew that their non-conference schedule would not be easy, but they have embraced it as part of the challenge of getting back to the A-10 Championship.
“We knew going into our non-conference schedule that we had some tough competition, so we’re happy with our results thus far,” Natale said. “Playing against some of the top teams in our region hasn’t been easy. However, we believe in ourselves and will continue battling through each game.”
Clinton thinks that the best is yet to come for her team. “I don’t think we are remotely close to the ceiling but we have some non-conference tests coming up which will be nice to see where we may be. We love a challenge and know that we can be successful moving forward,” she said.
Natale and the rest of the team are more motivated than ever to end this season on the right foot. “Now that we have a taste of what it’s like to make it to an A-10 Championship, we’re determined to walk away from this season with a ring.”
