By Alden Detmer/X: AldenDetmer
The George Washington men’s soccer team (2-5-1) fell 1-0 to the Fordham Rams (4-2-2) in an Atlantic-10 (A-10) league opener on Sept. 20.
This is the first time the Revolutionaries have lost to the Rams at home since 2012.
“We obviously gave up a goal,” GW men’s soccer Coach Craig Jones ’98 said. “But from there on, I think we went head to head. We won a lot of battles in the field and we kept going. We probably deserved to get something out of that game. Sometimes you don’t, but in terms of our effort to keep going, to keep trying to create chances, I told the guys that I can’t complain in terms of how we performed today.”
Fordham struck early with a fourth minute goal from Daniel Lang. In the first corner kick of the match, Fordham’s Jack Sias kicked it short to Daniel Lang, whose shot was punched away by GW’s Tom Macauley towards the bleachers. The resulting clash for the ball caused GW’s Ben McGovern to commit a foul, creating a set-piece opportunity from 30 yards out for the visitors. Lukas Gatti tapped it to Daniel Lang, who scored a screamer from distance.
“Right after the goal, we huddled up right outside our 18-yard box,” captain Colin Prendergast said. “We just told the guys, ‘Hey, calm down, take a breath.’ After that, we were able to stay focused until the end, and we did everything we could to get a goal. In that moment, the biggest thing is to [focus] on getting through the next five minutes.”
The Revs found their first real chance in the 22nd-minute. Defender Jake Hobbs threw the ball into the box from the sideline and found Rashid Seidu-Aroza. Seidu-Aroza then took a point-blank shot right in front of goal, but Fordham’s goalkeeper Tristan Stephani was able to make the save.
With 20 minutes left in the match, Seidu-Aroza, who had already been nursing a knee injury, went down and exited the game. This was only the St. Bonaventure transfer’s second appearance for the Revolutionaires.
“I’ll still have to take a look,” Jones said. “He was already out injured, so we’re hoping to get him back for conference play. I don’t think it’s anything major at this point, but we’ll have to assess that and see how he is.”
With the Revs still trailing 1-0 in the dwindling seconds of the match, GW’s Nico Medina committed a sliding tackle into Fordham’s Elias Betancourt, who promptly went down right in front of the referee. Medina was shown a straight red card, although he had previously accumulated a yellow card in the 41st minute. Medina exited the game and will be forced to miss the next scheduled match.
“Obviously, it’s a big loss,” Jones said. “Nico is a big piece for us in terms of his energy. But, it opens the door for another player to step up and get minutes in the next game. We’re disappointed not with the decision, just his reaction. I think the ref should have called the [previous] foul, and that wouldn’t have even happened, but he let it play on. Then you’re letting young guys with hot heads make a decision. We have guys who would love to play more minutes, so this will be a big opportunity for someone in the next game.”
The Revolutionaries will face Delaware at home Tuesday at 3:00 pm, their second A-10 matchup of the season.
