BY JONNY WALKER, SPORTS ASSIGNMENT EDITOR
Fordham’s Jed Dixon, a sophomore defenseman, entered Saturday’s game at the Marra Athletics Complex against St. Bonaventure with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Twenty seconds later, Dixon made an overlapping run down the left sideline. Fordham’s Florian Deletioglu, a junior midfielder, laid the ball off for him at the edge of the 18-yard box.
Dixon knocked the ball from his right foot to his left. He drove it over the keeper’s outstretched hands and into the back of the net.
It capped off a 3-0 Rams’ (3-1-5, 1-0-1) victory over the Bonnies (3-5-1, 0-2) on Parents Appreciation Day.
“Limiting our mistakes has been a topic that has come up several times in the huddle with coach [Kwame Oduro],” said Bonaventure goalkeeper Nicolas Pucci. “If we can limit our mistakes in games, we won’t create chances against ourselves the other team can take advantage of.”
Both teams remained scoreless through the first half. Bonaventure head coach Kwame Oduro credited his defense, but said his team needed to finish scoring opportunities.
In the 25th minute, Bonaventure’s Peter Massaquoi, a senior forward, nearly put the Bonnies up, 1-0. Instead, his shot ricocheted off the post.
“We can’t defend [for] 90 minutes without making a mistake,” said Bonaventure head coach Kwame Oduro. “We have to punish other teams when they make a mistake. When you score first in the A-10s, it’s pretty hard to lose.”
Fordham out-shot the Bonnies, 19-10, for the game. In the second half, some of those shots began to find their marks.
“And the second half … I think we played bad,” said Oduro. “When you don’t put your chances away early on in the game, it … always comes back and haunts you.”
In the 50th minute, Fordham’s Adrian Valentine, a senior forward, nudged the ball between Bonaventure’s right center and outside backs. Senior midfielder Savvas Christoforou chased the ball down and crossed it from the end line back to the middle of the 18-yard box with one touch. Graduate midfielder Ben Shepherd ran onto the ball, hitting a hard, left-footed shot into the net’s lower-left corner. Valentine and Christoforou were credited with an assist on the play.
In the 76th minute, a foul against Pucci awarded Fordham a penalty kick. The Rams subsequently went up, 2-0.
“The second goal was unfortunate,” said Pucci. “I decided to come out on a one-on-one and clipped the attacker with my foot inside the 18-yard box. [Fordham’s Jack Sluys had a] good penalty-kick finish.”
Oduro called his team’s second-half meltdown a “mental problem.”
“You try to replicate scenarios [during practices],” said Oduro. “But the pressure is different in the game, right? You can train all you want, but in the game, the pressure is different.”
The Bonnies travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to face La Salle Saturday. The A-10 matchup streams live on ESPN+.
Oduro said the week off between games is much needed.
“Coach [Oduro] also reminds us to consistently rest our bodies,” said Pucci. “It’s been non-stop since preseason, and it’s important that we find time to relax and collect ourselves between practices and games.”
walkercj20@bonaventure.edu
