Last Sunday, the Fordham University Rams took on the University of Albany Great Danes at Moglia Stadium in both teams’ third match of the season. Fordham entered the game having won their first two matches against Manhattan College and Drexel University, while University of Albany split their first two matches; they came into the day reeling from a 6-0 defeat against Monmouth University.
It was a tough start for the Rams, who found themselves trailing 1-0 after a long ball from the Great Danes met the head of Fordham sophomore Lena Johnsen, who could only watch as the ball floated into the top right corner of her own goal. Despite their early setback, the Rams would not stay down for long. Starting in the 36th minute, freshman Liina Tervo began a historic 6-and-a-half-minute stretch of play. Tervo’s first goal came from a cross swung in by graduate student Abby Borchers, which the Finnish forward blasted into the top left corner for her first collegiate goal. Shortly after, Tervo found herself through on goal thanks to a through-ball from senior Tristan McFarlane. Tervo remained calm in the face of the goal, slotting into the far post for her second of the game. The freshman would once again find an assist from an upperclassman when senior Carmen Hardwick delivered a ball into the box in the 41st minute, which Tervo finished for the fastest Hat-Trick in program history. Tervo was not done there. In the 63rd minute, she found herself barreling down the right-hand sand of attack, where she made the unselfish decision to play the ball across goal to her fellow freshman, Julia Acosta, for a routine finish. For her performance in this match, Tervo was rewarded with the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. The Great Danes would find some semblance of consolation in the 89th minute in the form of a penalty goal from sophomore Casey Stowell. The match ended 4-2, lifting the Rams to their first 3-0 start since 2010. Fordham looked to carry this momentum into a five-game road stint that began on Thursday at Wagner College.
In Staten Island, Fordham got off to a great start, controlling the possession and pushing the pace of play. They would be rewarded for their efforts when Tervo sent a shot careening off the crossbar, deflecting into the path of Borchers, who headed it home for her first goal as a Ram after her transfer from the University of California Berkeley. Fordham held their lead into the second half before Wagner sophomore Alana Goldsmith recovered a Fordham clearance before hammering the ball into the back of the net from 25 yards for the Seahawks’ equalizer. The Rams could have reclaimed their lead in the 79th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick. Borchers stepped up to take it but was thwarted by senior keeper Sam Hughes. The match would end 1-1, with the Rams falling just short of a picture-perfect 4-0 start to the season. The Rams would head to Connecticut, where they would face their biggest challenge of the season so far against the Stags.
On Sunday, the Rams fell to Fairfield University in a 5-0 defeat for their first loss of the season. Junior forward Maddy Theriault got the Stags off to a hot start, poaching both a rebound and a cross for the two goals in the first 22 minutes of play. It was the third straight game for the Rams that saw a penalty kick as sophomore Dana Nadda gave the Stags a 3-0 lead in the first half. Freshman Kaitlyn McQueeney and sophomore Kacie Benn sealed the victory for Fairfield in the second half with a pair of goals. The Rams will continue their road trip at Stonehill College on Thursday as they look for their fourth win of the season. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
