Broncs tie Iona in defensive battle

By Benjamin Shinault

Rider women’s soccer has remained unbeaten this October. 

In the Broncs’ most recent match on Oct. 11 against the Iona Gaels, they scored in the final 90 seconds to steal a 1-1 draw.

Fresh off two wins against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals, the Broncs were rolling when the bus stopped at Mazzella Field in New Rochelle, New York, to take on the last-place Gaels. 

The first half of the match was  even as both squads finished with four shots on goal. The stars of the first half for both teams were their goaltenders, as both of them accumulated four saves to keep the match scoreless heading into the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Broncs and the Gaels continued to battle it out as both teams were without a goal until the later stages of the match. 

In the 76th minute, the first goal of the game was scored by Iona off of a penalty kick, and the Gaels took the lead.

With time dwindling, senior goalkeeper Ellie Sciancalepore threw the ball down the field to graduate student forward Chloe Fisher who then found an open freshman midfielder Ava Ferrie. Ferrie fired the ball past the Iona goalkeeper to tie up the match at 1-1 with less than 90 seconds left in the game.

Time expired and the Broncs and Iona ended in a draw. Head Coach Drayson Hounsome, despite gaining a point and not losing the game, was not entirely impressed with his team’s performance.

“Overall, it was a disappointing performance … we struggled in every aspect,” Hounsome said.

The Broncs have been playing a lot recently. Since Sept. 30, they have played four games and Hounsome believes that this spike in play is beginning to have effects on his team.

“We looked desperately tired and need the week off to recover, which we will do and be ready to go in a week’s time against Canisius,” Hounsome said.

The Broncs now stand at 5-6-2 on the year and 3-3-1 in conference play with five games remaining in the regular season.

Rider will next face off against Canisius on Oct. 18 at 4 p.m at Ben Cohen Field. The game can be watched on an ESPN+ broadcast.