Florian Deletioglu scores his first goal for the Rams. (Photo courtesy of Fordham)
Fordham scored twice in the opening five minutes but could not hold the lead as the University of Rhode battled back to earn a 2-2 draw in a battle of the Rams in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams at Jack Coffey Field on Saturday night.
It took just 3:47 for Fordham (2-1-4, 0-0-1) to score. A long ball from the defensive end was headed forward by Florian Deletioglu to Jakob Gesien. Gesien returned the favor, as Deletioglu fired the bsll into the top left corner for his second goal this season.
Only 1:17 later, Fordham made it 2-0 off a set piece. Ben Shepherd took a corner from the far side of the field for a header Timo Hummrich. That shot was stopped by Conrado Duhour, who deflected the ball in front of the net for a bicycle kick by Nathan Simes that found the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal.
Rhode Island (3-0-4, 0-0-1) cut the lead in half in the 23rd minute, as Fordham was called for a handball in the box. Patrick Agyemang converted on the ensuing penalty kick.
The match stayed that way until the 84th minute, when Agyemang netted his second goal on a header off an Edvin Akselsen corner kick to level things up.
Fordham goalkeeper Demetri Skoumbakis made three saves, while Rhode Island’s Max Hinke posted five.
The Rams travel to Olean, N.Y. to play St. Bonaventure for a 5 p.m. match on Sept. 24.
