#16 Men’s Soccer Kicks Off 2018 at Holy Cross

Bronx, N.Y. – (August 23, 2018) – Following the Fordham-Holy Cross women's soccer match in Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday, the Fordham men's soccer team will take to the pitch for the first time in 2018, as the 16th-ranked Rams face Holy Cross in the second game of the soccer doubleheader. Coming off its magical 2017 run to the NCAA quarterfinals, Fordham enters 2018 as the 16th-ranked team in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and the College Soccer News Top 30 poll, marking the first time the Rams have entered a season nationally ranked. Fordham is also receiving votes in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 Poll. GAME COVERAGE: Fordham at Holy Cross – 7:00 PM ET – Live Video (Watch Stadium/PLN) | Live Stats | Follow on Twitter @FordhamSoccer SERIES HISTORY: This is the 14th all-time meeting between Fordham and Holy Cross, and the first since 1994. The majority of the games were either MAAC or Patriot League conference games. Fordham is 12-1 all-time against the Crusaders. Holy Cross enters 2018 after making the 2017 Patriot League Championship game, falling to Colgate for the league's automatic NCAA bid. PRESEASON POLL & AWARDS: With the regular season set to open this week, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced its preseason coaches' poll and All-Conference team for men's soccer on Tuesday. After its run to the NCAA quarterfinals last season and winning two of the last four conference championships, Fordham was the coaches' pick to finish first. Fordham, who was ranked 16th in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, took the top spot in the poll with six first place votes and 159 points, followed by VCU, who received four first place votes and 149 points, and Massachusetts, who got two first place votes and 144 points. Rhode Island was fourth, with Dayton, Saint Louis, George Washington, Davidson, George Mason, La Salle, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, and Duquesne rounding out the poll. The top eight teams in the conference will advance to the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship at the end of the season with opening round games at campus sites. The semifinals and final then move to Saint Louis' Hermann Stadium on November 9-11. In addition to being picked first in the preseason poll, three Rams, Janos Loebe, Rashid Nuhu, and Joergen Oland were named to the Preseason All-Conference team for the second consecutive year. LOEBE & NUHU GARNER MORE PRESEASON ACCOLADES: United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club announced today the initial list of NCAA Division I players named to the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists, presented by World Wide Technology. On that list is Fordham's senior forward Janos Loebe.

Janos Loebe

The MAC Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. This year's winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. Loebe is the first Ram listed on the Hermann Award Watch List since Nathaniel Bekoe in 2012. Prior to that, Ryan Meara (2010 & 2011) and Tim Richardson (2011) were also among Watch List candidates. Loebe is one of two Atlantic 10 players among the initial list of 32 players along with Massachusetts' Davis Smith. Loebe was a Third Team All-American by College Soccer News, as well as being First Team All-Atlantic 10 and First Team USC All-Midwest Region, after leading the Rams in scoring with 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. He was also named Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2017, while being among the national leaders in assists and game-winning goals (4) throughout the year. For his career, Loebe has started 61 of 62 games, and already ranks in the top ten at Fordham in goals (T10th – 19), assists (T3rd – 20), and points (10th – 58).

Rashid Nuhu

In addition, both Loebe and goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu were listed on TopDrawerSoccer.com's Best XI Second Team. The duo was also named to College Soccer News' Preseason All-America Team with Loebe on the Second Team and Nuhu on the Third Team. Like Loebe, Nuhu was also a First Team All-Atlantic 10 in 2017, while being a Second Team United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region and a First Team All-ECAC pick. He set the school record for minutes played by a goalkeeper (2140), as well as wins (14) last season. He posted 11 shutouts, which is the second-highest total in school history, while his 0.84 goals against average rated as the sixth-best. He was also a part of a Fordham defense, that ranked 17th in the NCAA in shutout percentage and 25th in goals against average. For his career, Nuhu is second in career goals against average (0.93), third in minutes played (5413) and shutouts (24), and fourth in career appearances in goal (58). WHO'S NEXT: Following Friday's game, Fordham stays on the road as the team travels to Wisconsin for a pair of matches over Labor Day weekend. The Rams face #12 Wisconsin on Saturday, September 1, followed by a Labor Day afternoon match with Northwestern on Monday, September 3rd.

Print Friendly Version