By Rich Saile
On Senior Day, Rider men’s soccer hosted its final regular season game against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, winning 3-0 on Nov. 6 to prepare them for the postseason, where a double-overtime outing against the Sacred Heart Pioneers led to a tough, 1-0 victory on Nov. 10.
Strong second half
The Broncs had multiple scoring opportunities in the first half against the Mountaineers, including a near-goal by senior midfielder Jack McGeechan, which was called back after an offsides foul.
The Broncs attempted five shots in almost 20 minutes but could not get the ball by the keeper.
The Broncs offense put pressure on the Mountaineers defense. Rider outshot Mount St. Mary’s 8-1 in the first half; however, both teams still went into the locker room with a scoreless tie.
Storming out of the locker room, the Broncs put the pressure on the Mountaineers.
The Broncs had another goal called back from senior midfielder Bryan Akongo off an offsides foul from Mount St. Mary’s.
In the 57th minute, the Broncs overwhelmed the Mountaineers defense with a goal from junior midfielder William Baker off an assist from Da Silva, taking a 1-0 lead.
Four and a half minutes later junior midfielder Momo Diop scored the Broncs’ second goal of the match.
The Broncs added extra icing on the cake when senior midfielder Dylan Kotch curled his shot inside the left post, pushing the Broncs to a 3-0 lead in the 73rd minute.
The Broncs defense limited the Mountaineers offense, controlling the remaining 17 minutes for a 3-0 win.
The Broncs secured their second MAAC regular season championship victory, their only other being during their inaugural season in 1997.
Rider shares the win with Iona, who has the top seed following a 4-0 win against Saint Peters. The Broncs are second seed.
Sweating ’til the 101st minute
On Nov. 10, Rider began postseason play by hosting the Sacred Heart Pioneers. In the first half, the Pioneers offense overwhelmed the Broncs defense, pushing the ball to Rider’s end of the field.
Junior goalie Adam Salama completed two saves in the 15th and 23rd minutes of the first half.
The Broncs performed three shot attempts while relying on their defense to keep the Pioneers away for the final 22 minutes of the first half. The score was tied at 0-0 as both teams went into their locker rooms.
After halftime, the Broncs offense started pushing the ball towards the Pioneers’ side of the field.
Akongo attempted a shot after collecting the ball inside the 18-yard box and shooting it from eight yards out, but Sacred Heart goalkeeper saved the ball, preventing the Broncs from taking the lead.
Once the Pioneers retained possession, they moved the ball back into Broncs territory, where Salama made a critical save in the 75th minute by blocking the ball from near post off a header from the Pioneers.
When regulation play concluded, both teams were scoreless, so overtime determined the winner.
The Broncs tried to take the lead in the first overtime when Akongo took advantage of a turnover by Sacred Heart, but his strike was blocked.
In the 99th minute, Salama saved a header from the Pioneers, and the Broncs’ graduate student back Cole Sotack saved the rebound shot off the right post.
The first overtime ended after ten scoreless minutes, forcing the game into double overtime.
Less than a minute into double overtime, the Broncs converted the go-ahead goal, as Sotack scored into the right side of the box off a pass from Da Silva, securing the Broncs’ victory, 1-0.
“Sacred Heart’s really good and we knew it. They started the season out really well. We knew it was going to be a tough test … because they’re really well-coached and very talented,” Head Coach Chad Duernberger said.
“In the first overtime, we put a lot of pressure on them … we had a couple half-chances, and, in that 10 minutes, you’ve just to take any chance you get,” Sotack said after the game. “The ball popped up to Theo, I saw the space, he played it to me. I just thought, ‘I’ve just got to get this on target,’ and luckily it went in.”
On Nov. 11, the MAAC revealed its regular season awards. Diop was named MAAC offensive player of the year and Salama was awarded MAAC goalkeeper of the year. Duernberger also won MAAC coach of the year.
Eight Broncs made an All-MAAC team: Salama, Akongo, Da Silva, McGeechan, Diop, senior back Martin Chladek, graduate student midfielder Andrew Erickson and graduate student midfielder Adel Al Masude.
The Broncs moved to 23-10-3 all-time in the MAAC championships, with the win. They reached the semifinals 13 times in the last 28 years.
Salama broke a tie with Keith Richardson and Pablo Gatinois for the most individual shutouts in program history, with eight clean sheets this season.
The Broncs return Nov. 14, hosting the Siena Saints in a rematch of last year’s MAAC Championship semifinals on Ben Cohen Field at 7 p.m.
