The Jaspers look to put a tough lost behind them. @JASPERSSOCCER / INSTAGRAM
Zeke Jazwinski, Contributor
Manhattan University men’s soccer fell to Fordham in a battle of the Bronx last Tuesday, which ended in the Jaspers falling to the Rams 3-0. The Rams were able to establish a fast offensive pace early, getting six shots up in the first 11 minutes of the game. The defense held strong for the most part in the first half until the 37th minute, when the Rams were able to get on the board. The Rams, however, were prevented from capitalizing on an offensive chance in the 43rd minute of the game, thanks to Jasper freshman Lucas Cobo.
Team captain, graduate student and midfielder Henry Hamilton had a few words about how important defense is for the team’s success.
“I think the past few games we’ve been showing moments where we defend really well leading into the MAAC,” Hamilton said after the game. “Defending wins championships, so obviously [we’re] looking to build more. We conceded a couple today but last game we defended really well for a 0-0 draw…teams in the MAAC especially really like to cross the ball, so being strong in the crosses and getting strong clearances [is important].”
In a game like this, the Rams came ready, turning it up in the beginning of the second half. After being granted a corner kick in the 63rd minute, the Rams capitalized on it and were able to score. The scoring wasn’t done there for the Rams, though, as less than a minute later they went on to score again. Hamilton explained to The Quadrangle what the toughest challenge was on the field facing a well-built team.
“I think an area we struggled to play today was winning the second balls,” Hamilton said. “We knew they were going to go long the whole time, sending it back to the striker. We knew we would have to pick up the second ball. Our midfield was late a lot of the time, especially in the first half. We cleaned it up a little bit in the second half…we were picking up the second ball properly and we had more time on the ball and with the ball. We were able to possess the ball for a little longer, so I think winning those second balls is something that we’ve been working on a lot but still have more work to do.”
The Fordham Rams were ranked highly in the MAAC for a majority of last season, so their Tuesday performance brought little surprise. Coach Tom Giovatto, who was hired just this year, was previously at University of Long Island serving as the head women’s coach. He spoke about where he saw room for improvement as the season continues.
“I mean, we just weren’t up for the battle,” Giovatto said. “It’s really upsetting that they came in and kind of pushed us around and we just weren’t ready for the challenge. It’s not a good loss, especially after the way we played in our previous game, we played tough and we challenged for the first ball and second ball but just weren’t good enough tonight.”
The Jaspers look to use this tough loss as a learning experience for future games. Giovatto talked further about where the team can pull out positives from Tuesday’s game play.
“We started playing really well late in the game but it was just too late,” Giovatto said. “We need to come with that attitude right from the start. Now we have to turn the page. We play Columbia in a few days. It’s another big rival game so we need to be ready and be prepared for and be excited to play and be upset about this loss.”
The Battle of the Bronx has now been going on for over a century, with the first matchup between the two schools being in basketball on Jan. 1, 1911. These teams always have each other on their minds going into the season, and circle the game whenever schedules are released.
Hamilton went on to explain the implications of losing in such a fierce rivalry.
“It’s obviously tough to take a loss in an important game,” Hamilton said. “The Battle of the Bronx is obviously an important game for us every year, it’s a benchmark on our schedule so I think obviously you have to learn to lose well as a team to win. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best, and today we came up against a team that ranked high for a good amount of the year. We had really good moments and we had a few chances where we could have scored a couple of moments. We had good defensive moments, a couple of lapses of judgment and we conceded goals, but that happens in football.”