Ali Arat

BRONX, N.Y. - After winning their last two games at the Princeton Invitational on Sunday, Ali Arat made sure Fordham University carried the momentum into conference play scoring seven of the team's 17 goals to lead the Rams to a 17-8 win over the Knights of Queens College (N.Y.) in the Col. Francis B. Messmore Aquatics Center.

The wins evens the Rams' record at 5-5 on the year.

Arat got the Rams on the board just 44 seconds into the contest but was also called for a penalty 15 seconds after that allowed Queens to tie the game on a penalty shot. Arat got the goal back for Fordham with an advantage goal with 6:23 left in the first but the Knights were again able to knot the game with a tally from Algirdas Skukauskas with 4:51 remaining. The Rams regained a one-goal lead on a score from Mikey Edwards 14 seconds later and the Rams took the 3-2 advantage in the second quarter.

Queens retied the game at three on an advantage goal from Kristopher Sweetman 33 seconds into the second quarter and then took a 4-3 lead on a Nemanja Milijanovic with 5:40 left. But Arat answered for the Rams 12 seconds later to tie the game at four before Milijanovic responded with his second of the game 12 second later to put the Knights up 5-4. Arat then exploded for three straight goals over a one minute span to give the Rams a 7-5 lead with 3:54 remaining in the half.

Ryan Hultman added a fourth straight Fordham goal with 3:07 left to put the Rams up 8-5 before Skukauskas halted the Fordham run with 2:56 left to cut the Fordham lead back to two, 8-6. A minute later, Nicholas Allen found the back of the net for the Rams as Fordham took a 9-6 lead into the break.

A Milijanovic goal in the first minute of the third quarter pulled Queens to within two, 9-7, but the Rams would score three unanswered goals over a three minute stretch late in the period to take a commanding 12-7 lead. Daniel Muñoz scored the first goal, followed by an advantage goal from Ricky Dilday while Edwards netted the last one.

A Camilo Bedoya tally just before the end of the third quarter made it a 12-8 game but Fordham outscored Queens 5-0 in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Arat added an assist to go with his seven goals while Dilday, Edwards and Allen each added two. Ryan Hultman, Munoz and Willie Leach each added one goal for Fordham while Hultman, Andrew McKernin, Ben Clinkinbeard, Robert Fleming and Victor Bautista Medina added two assists

Christian Flessner made tens saves in the Fordham goal.

Release courtesy Fordham Athletic Communications