Bronx, N.Y. — Fordham came out of the gate hot and rode the momentum of an opening minute goal to a 2-1 win on Thursday night at Jack Coffey Field. Julia Acosta (1') and Lena Johnsen (19') scored for the Rams to spoil the Jaspers' opening night which featured a late goal from Julia Nicholas off a corner kick.
After Acosta got on the board 40 seconds in, Manhattan settled down and initiated the attack. In the 6th minute, Sophomore midfielder Kaylee Stowell's shot from nearly 20 yards out hit the crossbar and was cleared out of danger by the Fordham back line. Manhattan continued to fight and Nicolette Caneda's header attempt in the 69th minute nearly missed the top left shelf. Nicholas' late attempt snuck in late for her 8th career goal and first of the 2024 season.
With the win, Fordham now holds a 19-9-1 advantage over the Jaspers, which includes Fordham victories in each of the last eight meetings.
Coach's Angle
"We didn't come out and start as fast as we wanted but we made some adjustments at halftime and the players responded," Manhattan head coach Brendan Lawler said. "We always talk about learning and getting better and taking whatever happens good or bad and getting better and we certainly did that in the second half."
"When we picked up our team defending and were able to close down spaces we were able to create chances."Return to West Point
Lawler was an assistant at Army from 2006 to 2009. The Jaspers will face Army at 1 P.M. on Sunday. The meeting will be the first between both teams since a 1-0 Army win at West Point back in 2010, Lawler's first season at the helm for the Jaspers. Army is coming off a 1-0 loss at home to Wake Forest earlier today.
Lawler: "Army's where I started so it's nice to go back there. It's a beautiful place with fantastic people who serve our country so we are honored to be there in the first place. Once the game starts it's just like every other one that we want to go get."
— Manhattan W. Soccer (@JaspersWSOC) August 16, 2024