Women’s Soccer Wins A-10 Opener in Double Overtime over Richmond

Bronx, N.Y. – (September 20, 2018) – The start of conference play always seems to bring new life to a season, where a bounce that went wrong early on, turns into the right one later. That bounce came at the right moment for the Fordham Rams on Thursday night, as senior Clara Gastaldi scored in the 107th minute, to give the Rams a 1-0 double overtime win over the Richmond Spiders at Jack Coffey Field in the Atlantic 10 women's soccer opener for both teams. With the win, Fordham moves to 4-5-0 overall, 1-0 in the Atlantic 10, while Richmond fell to 0-9 on the year, 0-1 in the league. The Rams have now won three straight matches, and four of their last five. Fordham would get early chances on Richmond goalkeeper Emily Wigg, testing the redshirt freshman in the fifth minute. Off a corner, the ball was cleared out to Kendall Dandridge, who put the ball back into the box, taking a hop almost into the net that Wigg punched over the bar, bringing on a second corner kick. This time, Emma Johnson got a header toward goal that Wigg grabbed for the save.

9/20/2018

Saige Bingman

Claudia Cuicani (23') and Margaret Roughley (29') also had shot on net in the first half that Wigg was able to come away with a save, finishing with four in the first half. In the second half, Fordham goalkeeper Kelly LaMorte had the save of the night in the 67th minute to keep the game scoreless. Off a corner kick, Richmond's TJ Anderson deflected the hard hit cross toward the goal, but LaMorte's quick reaction stopped the ball just short of the goal line.

Margaret Roughley

The game went into overtime, where each team had a chance to end the game in the second 10-minute period. Richmond's Alyssa Hendricks would hit the post in the 102nd minute, keeping the game going until the 107th minute, when Fordham's Clara Gastaldi capitalized on an errant Richmond clear at the right side edge of the six-yard box. She tucked the turnover just inside the left post for her second goal of the season. The Rams ended the game with a 15-8 shot advantage over the Spiders, as well as having a 9-3 edge in corner kicks. LaMorte recorded her fourth shutout of the season, making the one big save in the second half with Wigg ending the game with five saves. The Fordham women's soccer team will next be in action on Sunday, September 23rd, when the Rams host George Washington at Jack Coffey Field, beginning at 1:00 PM.