Rider drops double overtime thriller to Monmouth

By Logan VanDine

The Rider men’s soccer team could not get it done on Sept. 29 as they fell to Monmouth, 1-0 in a double overtime thriller after winning their last two matches.

The Broncs and the Hawks were in a defensive battle from the start, going toe-to-toe as the game remained scoreless going into halves one and two and into the first overtime.

Junior goalkeeper Guillaume Vienante has played over senior goalkeeper Pablo Gatinois of late and Head Coach Charlie Inversio thought Vienante played well after finishing the game with three saves.

“We’ve played [Pablo] Gatinois who’s been our starter the last three seasons, and we played Guillaume, who’s been our starter the last three games, and we’re still in the decision-making process,” said Head Coach Charlie Inverso of his two goalkeepers.

Veinante had another strong performance, helping the Broncs stay in the closely contested game with three saves.

Veinante was satisfied with his performance but felt he could have done better on certain plays throughout the match.

“I try to do my best at every game to help the team as much as possible, and I think that’s what I managed to do on Wednesday, even if my feelings are divided because of this loss. Personally and for the team, it will be important to get our first clean sheet as soon as possible; it will confirm our defensive efforts,” Veinante said of his performance in goal.

Monmouth and Rider then headed into the second overtime with the game still deadlocked at zero on each side until Monmouth midfielder Griffin Tomas kicked the game-winning goal. Monmouth walked it off 1-0, dealing the Broncs their fourth loss of the season.

“We lost a ball in a bad spot, giving them the opportunity to counter, and that’s what Monmouth did very efficiently,” Veinante said.

Despite the loss, the team was able to take some positives away from the game, considering this was their first matchup against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents.

“There’s a couple steps we need to get to be a good team, and that’s a process, and sometimes it’s easy
to look say that we should be there by now, and the reality is we started eight guys that were new to the program, and it takes time to get everyone a jump, and last night was a good step,” Inverso said.

Inverso recognized the efforts of his defensive stars after the game.

“I thought Guillaume was good in goal last night up until the final play. I thought Lenny [Cidolit] was good; I thought it was the longest stretch where we stayed queued in and the longest stretch we battled, and that game could have gone either way last night despite the fact that they had more shots,” Inverso said.

Veinante also talked about his team’s performance.

“It was probably not our best game, but I think there are some points we can build on. Conference games require toughness, and we probably played our best game of the season defensively. We were solid during 101 minutes, allowing only a few chances to Monmouth, so that’s a good point. Overall, I think we still have to improve, but if we continue to work as a team with a good spirit we will definitely be a good team and be able to achieve great results,” Veinante said.

The Broncs’ next test will be away against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.