Fordham Collects Wins Versus Bronxville and RCDS, Falls to Rye in 2OT

****Dates to keep in mind:  Saturday 5/11 game versus Westfield (NJ) is Senior Day and the Alumni Watch Game as well as the date for our equipment drive. Saturday 6/8 is the Alumni Game and Family BBQ****

The Rams went 2 - 1 this week picking up victories over Bronxville and Rye Country Day but ended up on the wrong side of a hard fought back and forth 2OT game with Rye High School.  The defense excelled all week and held Rye and Bronxville to four and two goals respectively, the lowest totals the Rams have given up this season.

This week the Prep faces two New Jersey squads with a Tuesday game over the Hudson at Don Bosco Prep and hosting Westfield on Saturday, which is Senior Day and the Alumni Watch game.  We will also be collecting equipment for our equipment drive benefiting City Lax and Bronx Lacrosse at Saturday’s game. Don Bosco is currently 5 - 7 with a 13 - 1 win over common opponent St. Peter’s Prep and a 12 - 5 loss to Iona Prep.  Westfield is 6 - 6 facing various private and public schools in New Jersey. We hope to see you all at the Westfield game as the Rams conclude their regular season.

Congratulations to Stephen Zupicich ‘19 (Bronxville) and Ethan Tym ‘19 (New Rochelle) for making the Lohud.com Groundball and Caused Turnover leaders list (here).  Kudos also go out to Colin Malarchuk ‘16 for earning All-NESCAC second team honors for his strong play this season for #9 Wesleyan University.

Rye HS Recap (L 4 - 3 2OT)

The Rams opened the scoring in the first quarter off a ground ball from Stephen Zupicich ‘19 when he found Quinn Beyer ‘19 (Rye) wide open cutting just above the crease and deposited it in the back of the net.  In the second quarter the Rams extended the lead to 2 - 0 off a James Cunningham ‘19 (Larchmont) shot which went five hole on the Garnets’ keeper. Rye answered quickly with a back door pass to the crease and an acrobatic catch and spin goal to cut the lead to 2 - 1, where it ended at the half.

Fordham took a 3 - 1 lead in the third as Quinn English ‘19 (Port Chester) found Beyer ‘19 who cranked a shot from up top finding the lower corner of the cage.  Rye answered putting one in on the doorstep to cut the Rams lead to one before tying the game 3 - 3 in the fourth off a broken play and backhand shovel in front of the crease.  The Garnets had a long possession towards the end of regulation but the Prep defense held tight and Rye eventually threw it away. A last second shot by the Rams as time expired was off the mark and they headed to overtime.

In overtime neither team could capitalize on offense as the Rams couldn’t get their shots on net and the Garnets were stifled by the Fordham defense who picked off several passes and dominated ground balls - lead by Zupicich ‘19 and Ethan Tym ‘19 who had 11 and 7 total groundballs on the day.  Off the opening faceoff of the second overtime Rye was able to find a cutting long pole who put in the game winner. Obviously a tough result to swallow but the Rams can take pride in playing an outstanding defensive game with solid goalie play from Will Rice ‘20 (New Rochelle).

Stat Line:  Beyer ‘19 2G, Cunningham ‘19 1G, Zupicich ‘19 1A/11GB, English 1A, Sowarby 1A, Tym 7GB, Rice ‘20 8 saves

Bronxville HS Recap (W 7 - 2)

At Murphy Field the Rams had one of its most complete games of the season on both sides of the ball as they hosted Bronxville, one of the top teams in Section 1.  Mekhi Simpson ‘20 (New Rochelle) got things started hitting stick side low past the Broncos goalie. That was followed up with a Quinn Beyer ‘19 score set up with a pass from Stephen Zupicich ‘19 off an unsettled groundball.  The Rams lead 2 - 1 at the end of the first quarter. Fordham put two more in the back of the net in the second, including a Will Aventuro ‘20 (White Plains) strike from up high and Simpson ‘20’s second of the day taking a 4 -1 lead into the half.

The Fordham defense owned the second and third quarters picking up 17 groundballs, forcing five turnovers, and allowing no goals as Will Rice ‘20 yielded nothing to Bronxville.  The Rams picked up two more scores in the third as Brendan Sowarby ‘19 (Manhattan) put in a lefty bouncer sweeping down the alley and Simpson ‘20 completed his hat trick to extend the lead to 6 - 1.  The fourth quarter saw Jack Stroligo ‘19 (Sleepy Hollow) and Beyer ‘19 pair up for the last of the Rams’ goals before the Broncos put one in, resulting in a 7 -2 final.

It was an all around solid victory as the Rams outshot Bronxville 32 - 17 and picked up 32 groundballs to the Broncos’ 23.  Ethan Tym ‘19, Patrick McAllister ‘19 (Manhattan), Luke Savage ‘19 (Rye), Stephen Zupicich ‘19, Michael Adair ‘20 (Rye), and Kelly Hughes ‘19 (Bronxville) all had solid contributions on defense and Will Rice ‘20 finished the game saving 72% of the shots he faced.

Stat Line:  Simpson ‘20 3G, Beyer ‘19 2G, Sowarby ‘19 1G, Aventuro ‘21 1G, Stroligo ‘19 1A, Zupicich ‘19 1A/8GB, Rice ‘20 5 saves

Rye Country Day Recap (W 9 - 7)

James Cunningham ‘19 found Mekhi Simpson ‘20 to open the scoring at the nine minute mark and the Prep went up 2 - 0 when Will Aventuro ‘21 swept around the RCDS defense and stuck a lefty shot.  The Wildcats answered quick on a fast break to make it 2 - 1 early in the quarter. The ball was on the ground for most of the rest of the quarter plus some nice saves on both sides left the score 2 - 1 at the end of the quarter.  The Rams defense and Will Rice ‘20 shut down RCDS in the second quarter allowing the Prep to score two more and take a 4 - 1 lead into the half.

The Prep offense kept rolling in the third quarter as Brendan Sowarby snuck one in five hole on the goalie and Mekhi Simpson ‘20 netted his second.  Patrick McAllister ‘19 (Manhattan) nabbed a ground ball deep in Rams territory to start a fast break that resulted in Matt Reilly ‘19 (Port Chester) finding Sowarby ‘19 for the Prep’s seventh goal.  The Wildcats scored one late in the quarter to make it 7 - 3 going into the fourth. Both teams then traded goals to make it 8 - 4 before RCDS rattled off three straight to make it a one goal game with 1:45 to go.  The Rams held tough the last two minutes and ended up breaking the Wildcats ten man ride when Matt Reilly ‘19 (Port Chester) got an empty netter with 4 seconds to go and the Rams held on for the 9 - 7 victory.

Stat Line:  Sowarby ‘19 3G, Beyer ‘19 2G, Simpso ‘20 2G, Reilly ‘19 1G/1A, Aventuro ‘21 1G, Cammarota ‘20 2A, Tym ‘19 1A, Cunningham ‘19 1A