Broncs topple Saint Peter’s and Manhattan
By Benjamin Shinault and Richard Saile
Rider women’s soccer had itself a successful two games over the weekend as it picked up back-to-back wins against Saint Peter’s on Oct. 4 and Manhattan on Oct. 7. This successful two-game set planted the Broncs at fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings as of Oct. 10.
Pummeling the Peacocks
Fresh off a four-shot loss, the Broncs were hungry for redemption, which is exactly what they got on Oct. 4 in Jersey City, as they took down Saint Peter’s 3-1.
The Broncs scored within the first 10 minutes of the match off the foot of senior midfielder Hannah Freeman.
Roughly seven minutes later, graduate student forward Chloe Fisher nestled the ball in the back of the net to put the Broncs up 2-0 heading into the second half.
The Peacocks were able to slip one by senior goalkeeper Ellie Sciancalepore on a penalty kick but, that ended up being the only goal that they were able to score.
With the Broncs only up by one in the second half, the search for the insurance goal was on as sophomore back Olivia Smith delivered for the Broncs, cementing a win for Rider by a score of 3-1.
The victory marked a turnaround for the Broncs as they finished the match with 20 total shots and 13 shots on goal.
Jasper jousting
On Oct. 7, Senior Day, Rider defeated the Manhattan Jaspers 2-1.
Early in the first half, Manhattan came out strong and had several opportunities in Rider territory, but the defense of the Broncs held its own and prevented the Jaspers from scoring a goal by halftime.
The Broncs started slow offensively with a few possessions, but as the match continued, the Broncs offense became more aggressive and stressed the defense of the Jaspers.
The second half possessed countless amounts of exciting back-and-forth moments from both teams. The first goal of the match was scored on a penalty kick by the Broncs in the 56th minute by Freeman to give Rider a 1-0 lead. It was her fourth goal of the season, which lead the Broncs this season.
“It’s exciting, four goals on the season and hopefully more to come. They’ve been big goals too and this is potentially my last time playing soccer,” said Freeman. “This is it. This is what I’ve lived for so it feels so good.”
However, the Jaspers had a quick response of their own as they quickly struck to tie the match at 1-1 thanks to a goal from outside the 18-yard box. The Broncs weren’t going to lay down as sophomore midfielder Leonor Alvessent passed the ball to freshman midfielder Ava Ferrie, who set up the goal in the 75th minute to give the Broncs back the lead and go up 2-1 in the match.
The Jaspers had a chance to tie it, but the ball just missed off the top of the net and the Broncs held on to win 2-1.
With the win, the Broncs are now on a two-game winning streak and move to 5-6-1 and 3-3 in MAAC play. It also extends a run of five consecutive wins against Manhattan.
“We’ve really got to look at each game, take each game that comes and try to compete for three points,” Head Coach Drayson Hounsome said. “We’ll be trying to get three points on Wednesday at Iona.”
The Broncs will travel to New Rochelle, New York, to face the Iona Gaels on Oct. 11 at 3 p.m and will be looking for another win. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
