Broncs handle Saint Joseph’s in 2-2 start

By Rich Saile

Fresh off winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and then losing a first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament, Rider men’s soccer began its season with a stretch of non-conference opponents, ultimately going 2-2 through its first four games.

Narrow loss at Lehigh

On Aug. 26, the Broncs traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. In the early minutes of the first period, both the Broncs and Mountain Hawks each missed a pair of corner kicks. In the 43rd minute, the Mountain Hawks finally got on the board with their first goal of the game: a free kick that snuck low past the wall of Broncs, giving them a 1-0 lead going into halftime. 

Coming out of halftime, the Broncs took an aggressive approach offensively to get the tying goal, but they missed multiple shots, including one in the 57th minute. As junior midfielder William Baker collected the ball inside the box, he attempted a point-blank shot.

However, the Lehigh goalkeeper charged at Baker and prevented the tying goal. The Mountain Hawks held on to win the match 1-0 and drop the Broncs’ record to 0-2-0. The Broncs were outshot 11-10 including on shots on goal 4-2. 

Squeaking by Stony Brook

On Aug. 29, the Broncs concluded a three-game road trip where they traveled to New York to take on the Stony Brook Seawolves. Early in the first period, the Broncs missed shots, but so did the Seawolves, thanks to Rider’s defense. Salama prevented two shots on goal from the Seawolves, and both teams went into halftime scoreless. 

In the second half, the Seawolves missed a pair of corner kicks and came out aggressively on offense to try and score the first goal of the game. Salama had three saves in a span of five minutes, with two in the 62nd minute, to help the Broncs’ stifling defense from allowing a goal from the Seawolves. 

After a missed shot from freshman midfielder Jakub Strapek, the Broncs finally scored the first goal of the game, by Bryan Akongo in the 82nd minute. Akongo intercepted a Seawolves pass that he took to the 18-yard box and shot inside the right post, past the Seawolves goalie, giving the Broncs a 1-0 lead.

 The Broncs defense held off two Seawolves shots in the final five minutes as the Broncs captured their first win of the season, shifting their stats to 1-2-0. 

“So proud of this group tonight. Stony Brook is a strong side and well-coached. We knew it would be a tough test for us. Tonight I saw the fight, the grit, the work rate that makes up Rider men’s soccer. We battled all over the field and tactically grew from last game. We also took a great step forward in our brotherhood tonight. This group just needs to keep growing together. Overall, I’m pleased with everybody’s efforts and the bench energy was great,” Head Coach Chad Duernberger said to Rider Athletics.

Home opener win

On Sept. 2, the Broncs finally returned home to play their first home game at Ben Cohen Field, taking on the Saint Joseph’s Hawks. 

The Broncs offense started off strong, scoring their first goal of the game less than four minutes into the game. Akongo scored his second goal of the season with an assist from Strapek and graduate student back Cole Sotack. 

Just a little over five minutes later, the Hawks tied the score at 1-1 with a penalty kick. The Broncs broke the tie in the 29th minute as junior midfielder Momo Diop scored his first goal of the season, assisted by Akongo and sophomore midfielder Ezra Punselie, giving the Broncs a 2-1 lead entering halftime.

“We wanted to show our team early on, being our first game at Ben Cohen, and try to push the game and the tempo and get on the scoresheet early. That’s been something we’ve really focused on the last couple of games. It didn’t happen at Stony Brook. We got the game winner in the 82nd minute. But it happened today, so I was really happy to see us get one early,” Duernberger said. 

The Broncs stormed out after halftime with their offense in attack mode, keeping the ball in Hawk territory. The Broncs had two corner kicks in 33 seconds and scored their third goal of the game early in the second half.

Junior midfielder Theo Da Silva scored inside the left post, putting the Broncs at a 3-1 lead. It was Da Silva’s first goal. 

Rider held on to win its second straight game and made its record 2-2-0. Rider outshot the Hawks 15-7 and narrowly edged out the Hawks on shots on goal at 4-3. 

The Broncs travel to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7 to take on the George Washington Colonials. The game is at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.