After starting Atlantic 10 play on a high note, the Fordham women’s soccer team struggled to keep up their momentum against their fellow conference opponents.

They began their two-game week in our nation’s capital, as they faced the George Washington Colonials last Thursday night. For only the second time this season, the Rams scored the first goal of the game and went into halftime with a lead. In the 40th minute, freshman midfielder Danielle Etienne sent a long ball into the box, which was deflected off the head of a Colonial defender. Right there to pick up the pieces was junior Crea Baker-Durante, who proceeded to put the ball in the back of the net for her second goal of the season.

Fordham’s one goal lead didn’t last long after the halftime break, as George Washington came storming back. The team’s second leading goal scorer, senior Megan McCormick, punched in her third goal of the year with a header, thanks to a perfect cross by her teammate Sammy Neyman in the 54th minute.

Both squads continued the pressure for the rest of the second half, but when the regulation whistle blew, the game was still knotted at one.

Six minutes into overtime, the Colonials capitalized on a corner kick opportunity. Neyman took the kick and finished the night with her second assist of the contest after Madi Coyne smashed a header past Rams goalie Kelly LaMorte for the 2-1 game-winner. In the losing effort, LaMorte continued to write her name in the Fordham Women’s Soccer history books. She made a career-high 14 saves, eight of them in the second half, which was the most by a Rams goalie in over 20 years.

“Kelly’s been playing well, and so has our backline,” said head coach Jessica Clinton. “They aren’t giving the opponent great looks at the goal and Kelly’s done well handling the tough ones too.”

The Rams had to regroup quickly and head back on the road for their fifth road game in six matchups against the improved Richmond Spiders. The Spiders finished in the bottom four of the conference last season with only two wins, but already doubled their win total prior to the start of the game on Sunday.

Only six minutes into the ballgame, the Spiders scored on one of their two shots on goal throughout the entire contest. Senior Brooke Beam received a forward pass from teammate T.J. Anderson, cut back and shot the ball inside the right post to give Richmond the early lead. That goal would loom large for Fordham, as the Spiders would put on a defensive stand to beat them 1-0. Although they weren’t able to get the victory, the Rams had plenty of chances throughout the game. They outshot the Spiders 15-8 (4-2 on goal) and took eight corner kicks compared to their opponent’s three.

“The Richmond goalkeepers did well making saves,” said Clinton. “We had some terrific looks on goal and they came up with at least three big saves. It’s composure in the final moments and it’s technique. We had two shots that were well hit and had a dip to them. If it were on frame, they would have went in.”

The Rams sit at 2-8-2 (1-2 in conference play) coming into this week and will have a chance to right the ship against George Mason at home on Thursday and VCU on the road on Sunday. For Clinton, the task at hand is pretty simple.

“Our soccer playing, commitment and work rate [are] there,” she said. “The ball just didn’t go in the back of the net at Richmond. No pun intended, but our goal is to score goals and earn points relative to A-10 play.”

After these two games, there will only be five games left before the A-10 Tournament in November. Essentially, the time is now for the Fordham Rams and they need to get their kinks worked out before it’s too late.