Men’s soccer (3-10-2, 1-4-1, Atlantic 10) bore a loss Saturday against Fordham (6-3-4, 3-1-2, A-10), ending the game 1-3.
The game wrapped up with a tough defeat for the Revolutionaries, marking GW’s 10th loss of the season and their fourth in the A-10 Conference. The Revs stand at 13th place in the A-10 out of 14 teams.
The Revs have the second–lowest save percentage in the A-10 so far, standing at .617, just above Loyola Chicago, who is wavering at a .596.
Both GW and Fordham entered Saturday’s match with conference wins, as the Revs defeated Saint Joseph’s 2-0 on Oct. 12, with graduate student midfielder William Turner scoring both goals.
The Revs struggled throughout the first half with their defense and offense, lacking control in the midfield. They attempted five shots on goal, two from freshman forward Louis Crofts. Sophomore midfielder Dan Dobrin gave the Revs their first corner kick opportunity as he dribbled down the right flank and deflected the ball as he approached the goal.
While both teams failed to score any goals in the first half, the Rams’ offense held strong, as Rams junior forward Andre Insalaco dribbled past two Revs, and Rams graduate student forward Luke Pompliano almost shot on target, hitting the post 19 minutes into the game.
The game picked up in the first three minutes after the break, when Rams junior midfielder Daniel D’lppolito was on the breakaway but was pulled down by Dobrin. Dobrin’s foul proved costly, earning him a red card three minutes and 18 seconds in and leaving the Revs down a player for the remainder of the game. The Rams capitalized their opportunity on the set piece, when Rams graduate student midfielder Lukas Hackaa converted the free kick into the first goal of the game.
After the Revs were down to 10 players, they changed their formation from three center backs to four, adding more stability in the defense as a response to the Rams’ constant threat down the flanks. The shift allowed the Revs to focus on attacking, as Turner dribbled through midfield and played a perfect through ball to Crofts, who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner. The maneuver gave the Revs their first and only goal with 30 minutes left in the game.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Rams had a penalty, which Revs sophomore goalkeeper Tom Macauley saved. But the Rams were able to tap in the rebound and D’lppolito scored the third goal of the night, putting the Rams in the lead. The Rams took 21 shots compared to the Revs eight during the course of the game.
The Revs pushed up the pitch in the final minutes in an attempt to score but were unable to due to the Ram’s defense surrounding the goal. In the last four minutes, Crofts and graduate student midfielder Roee Tenne received yellow cards after being fouled. But the Revs’ efforts were fruitless, as Hackaa blasted the ball from 30 yards out into the top right corner, extending the Rams’ lead by two goals.
The Revolutionaries will head to Missouri for their next game against Saint Louis on Saturday.
