Coming off continuous losses, the Fordham women’s soccer team faced the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen this past Sunday at Jack Coffey Field. This game celebrated the second-to-last home game for eight women who have been integral parts of the team. Despite their best efforts, the Rams were defeated by the Minutewomen, making this their fourth consecutive loss as they head into their last two games of the season. 

In the two games prior to Senior Day, the Rams had tough losses against the Saint Joseph’s University Hawks and the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. At home, Fordham faced the Hawks to a large amount of fan support. In this game, however, the Hawks were a little quicker and more aggressive. Within the first 24 minutes of the game, the Hawks put one in the back of net. Fordham continued to play strong defense from there. However, a lack of offensive precision eventually boiled over and the Hawks scored again in the 73rd minute , securing the 2–0 scoreline.

One bright spot for Fordham was freshman midfielder Ellen Schedin who had five shots, as well as her teammate, fifth year midfielder Milan Bornstein. These attempts, along with junior forward Caitlin Kennedy’s three attempts and junior forward Kristen Cocozza’s attempt, made a total of 14 shot attempts the whole game. Fordham did their best to penetrate their opponent’s goal but were unable to do so. The shutout was difficult, but the Rams knew that they had to keep pushing forward to the next game.

In their next game, they traveled to Richmond, Virginia to face the VCU Rams in their home field, SportsBackers Stadium. VCU did not allow a single shot attempt outside of graduate student defender Hope Baisley lone one in this tough battle. While facing the top team in the conference was difficult, some individual successes came out of this game. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Maria O’Sullivan earned her first start of the season. She made six saves throughout the game. Despite giving up one goal in the 37th minute, O’Sullivan remained a strong defender in net.

This game was also Bornstein’s 81st with Fordham, making her the leader in Fordham Women’s Soccer’s All-Time Games Played list. She has played in every game since 2017 when she was only a freshman. The record previous to hers was held by Brooke Salmon, who played in 80 games from 2015–2018. 

In speaking about her success, Bornstein said, “I love this team and program so much, and I am glad that I have been able to make an impact on the field in every game of my career here. I set this goal for myself a while ago, knowing that a lot of it was uncontrollable. I have little control over the playing time I get, and no control really if my body stays healthy enough for me to play. I am fortunate that both of those things went my way, and I feel humbled to have my name next to alumni like Brooke Salmon and Natalie Sims. When I played with them, I looked up to them both so much as players and people.”

The Rams’ most recent match proved difficult as they faced the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen for the first time this season. A ceremony was held prior to the game as each graduating player was recognized for their hard work and dedication to the team.

Following the celebration, the Rams played hard but came up short against the Minutewomen. Neither team scored in the first half of the game. However, after coming back from halftime, the Minutewomen scored in the 54th minute. Then, with only 10 minutes left in the game, they scored again. The Rams did have an answer to this as Bornstein scored to add another mark to her terrific career. Fordham was close to scoring once again when senior midfielder Jenna Devine had her last shot attempt that almost made it over the Minutewomen goalkeeper, securing the final score, 2–1.

With a few losses behind them, the Rams are ready to face their final two opponents, the Dayton Flyers and the George Mason Patriots. The potential of competing in the A-10 tournament may be slim, but head coach Jessica Clinton has not lost confidence. “We’ve played well but just not consistent enough. We did not give up and will play until the last second. Go for the win.”