After dealing with two losses coming out of the two-week pause that affected all of campus, the women’s soccer team was able to fight back and gain two wins against the University of Rhode Island and La Salle University. Both games have allowed the Rams to regain focus and get excited for the games ahead.

In the first game, the team faced the Rhode Island Rams and showed them who owned the name best. In the first twelve minutes of the game, sophomore forward Kristen Cocozza was able to score a goal through assists from her teammates, junior defender Kendall Dandridge and senior midfielder Milan Bornstein. When Rhode Island were able to score and tie the game in the same half, freshman goalkeeper Maria O’Sullivan stepped up to defend the goal and make sure that they did not score again.

In the first overtime, neither team was able to score. It wasn’t until the final minute of the second overtime that Fordham was able to score. O’Sullivan was able to find junior forward Marissa Stanco, who kicked the ball to Cocozza, who scored the winning goal for the (one and only) Rams.

This past Sunday, the Rams also faced the La Salle Explorers on the road in Philadelphia. Dandridge scored the goal for the Rams this time, and she was part of a defense that was able to prevent the Explorers from scoring the whole game. Goalkeeper O’Sullivan had two saves and had her first full-shutout of her career.

In her response to how well the games went this weekend, head coach Jessica Clinton said, “That’s the grit and the fight of this team right now. They run over to the sideline, get taped and run back in. That’s all of them. That’s the mentality. It’s insane — in the best way possible.”

It was only yesterday that the A-10 Conference announced the weekly women’s soccer awards, and Cocozza was named Offensive Player of the week. After helping the Rams beat both Rhode Island and La Salle, Cocozza played a key role in the team’s success that will be back in action this Wednesday in a rematch with Rhode Island.