Broncs finish season with a shutout road victory 

By Joshua Yuhas

Rider men’s soccer had a 2-0 road win over Mount Saint Mary’s University on Nov. 5, earning their first conference win in the final game of the season.

Ending on a high note

The match started without much action near the nets, with just one shot from the Mountaineers and three offside calls on Rider in the opening 27 minutes of the game.

Mount Saint Mary’s found the first major chance of the game in the 33rd minute, forcing a save from graduate goalie Marius Helias.

Rider picked the pace up in response with a shot from senior midfielder Theo Da Silva and a shot from senior midfielder Lovro Kostanjsek that forced a save by the Mountaineer goalkeeper.

In the 35th minute, the Broncs broke through on a free kick at the right corner of the 18-yard box when graduate defender Kaelan Debbage found the head of sophomore defender Max Schrader for the opening score of the game.

“Kaelan, my housemate actually, I was just telling him, ‘put the ball here, I’m going to run there,’ and I know he has the quality. All the guys have the quality to do that,” Schrader said.

The first half saw eight fouls for the Broncs and six for the Mountaineers, with a yellow card given to a Mountaineer player.

Helias made his second save of the game at the end of the first half to preserve the 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.

“Scoring first on the road is always important. We had a good first half, considering the wind conditions involved in the game. At halftime, we discussed one goal would not be enough,” Head Coach Chad Duernberger said.

Second half success

The Broncs, through the efforts of senior midfielders Xavi Csato and Luke Kirilenko, jumped on the attack to start the second half, searching for that second goal.

Csato took a shot at the bottom right of the net that was saved by the Mountaineers, and Kirilenko took his own three minutes later, missing to the left side.

The Mountaineers fired two shots just a minute apart from each other before the Broncs flipped the field for an attack of their own.

In the 58th minute, Kirilenko lifted a ball past the Mountaineers defense and into the stride of Csato, who won the battle against the goalkeeper for the second goal for the Broncs.

“We needed more separation in the game. Xavi’s goal in the second half helped give us assurance in the match,” Duernberger said.

The 10 minutes following the goal included a Helias save but also three fouls and yellow cards were handed out between the two sides, with just two shots total in this period.

A minute after the run, Mount Saint Mary’s worked in two shots, but after an offside call in the 80th minute, the Mountaineers were given three more yellow cards.

Rider was awarded a free kick from these fouls, however, the score remained the same until the final whistle as Kostanjsek missed a penalty shot later on in the match.

The Mountaineers took two more shots by the end of the game, ending the second half with nine shots for the period and 12 total.

“A clean sheet win, especially for a defender, it’s an amazing feeling and we worked very hard to keep that clean sheet so it was a great result,” Schrader said.

Helias’ three saves earned him MAAC Defensive Player of the Week and posted the first clean sheet of the graduate goalkeeper’s career with the Broncs.

Reflecting on the season, Schrader described his mindset by reviewing his sophomore season and the connection with his teammates.

“Just looking for the positives. I get to see my buddies every day. These are my close friends and these are my brothers, so seeing them every day just puts a smile on my face no matter how bad of a day I was having,” Schrader said.

Duernberger expressed his gratitude to his 2025 team for their constant effort on and off the field.

“This group played as hard as they could for each other and Rider University until the final whistle of the season. I’m thankful they were able to get a win for all the hard work they put in and the commitment to the brotherhood all season long,” Duernberger said.

The Broncs’ second shutout win of the season closed out their 2025 campaign with a 2-11-4 record.