Rider toppled, shutout by Iona in MAAC Championships

By Rich Saile

In a rematch of last season’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game,  Rider men’s soccer, the defending champions, were tasked to take on the top-seeded Iona Gaels. After a hard-fought, gritty and physical match, the Broncs saw their title stripped away in a 1-0 extra time shutout.  

To get to the championship on Nov. 14, Rider men’s soccer hosted the Siena Saints for the MAAC semifinal, resulting in another 1-0 shutout victory for the Broncs. 

Sneaking by Siena

The Broncs offense started out aggressive, catching the Saints defense off guard with a goal 30 seconds into the game off a shot by senior midfielder Bryan Akongo. 

The Broncs defense held the Saints to only three shots, as the first half was a defensive stalemate, each team testing the other’s patience. 

In the last 20 minutes of the first half, the Broncs attempted to push the ball into Saints territory, but a pair of missed shots from junior midfielder Momo Diop and graduate student Adel Al Masude kept the game scoreless.

To start the second half, the Broncs took the ball into Saints territory, and junior midfielder William Baker was fouled, resulting in a yellow card that gave the Broncs a free kick early on.

Then, Diop curled his shot around the Saints’ wall and inside the right post to give the Broncs a 1-0 lead. 

“That was a big moment. It’s not always easy. Sometimes you got to find a way to score a goal off a free kick… and that’s what happened. I got that free kick and saw an important moment to change the game and help the team.” Diop said. 

The Saints had a pair of chances to tie the game 1-1, but junior goalkeeper Adam Salama caught a pair of saves that evaporated the Saints’ chances to tie, and the Broncs held on to win 1-0.

Diop scored his 10th goal of the season, and his two points increased his season total to 24, leading the MAAC. 

 Rider posted its third consecutive shutout, 10th of the year, to advance to the MAAC championship game.

The Broncs forced a rematch of the 2023 MAAC championship game with a trip back to Iona. Rider and Iona tied for the regular season MAAC championship, but Iona ultimately got the top seed with a 1-0 victory over Rider earlier in the season.  

Gut-wrenching loss in the 95th

Fresh off their multiple shutout wins in the MAAC tournament, the Broncs took a trip to New Rochelle, New York, on Nov. 17 to face off against the Iona Gaels, an exact replica to last season’s MAAC championship. But this time, Rider fell short and lost 1-0.

In a tightly-contested first half against Iona in the MAAC championship game, the Broncs pushed the ball on the Gaels’ side of the field, but Diop did not strike the ball past the goalkeeper. 

The patient Gaels offense relied heavily on their defense to keep the game on their terms. 

Diop missed two more shots while the Broncs defense held the Gaels to just four shot attempts in the first half. 

As both teams left the locker room, the Gaels offense quickly applied pressure to the Broncs defense to test Salama, but they could not find the back of the net. 

Freshman midfielder Ezra Punselie had a chance to give the Broncs the lead, but they could not get it past the Iona goalkeeper. 

The action picked up in the 66th minute when Salama made a kick save from the goal line off a shot made deep inside the six-yard box. Three minutes later, the Gaels got a shot past Salama, but Da Silva swooped in to head the ball over the crossbar and keep the game scoreless. 

Senior back Jack McGeechan crossed a pass to the 12-yard box to junior midfielder Luke Kirilenko, but his shot was saved by Gaels goalkeeper once again in the 70th minute. 

In the 88th minute, it appeared the Gaels had clinched the win with a shot headed toward the net, but a Gael was called offside, keeping the Broncs alive. 

Iona was pushing through the Broncs defense and looked to seal the game in regulation, but Rider forced overtime.

As overtime started, the Gaels were down a man but still moved the ball into Broncs territory. 

The Gaels missed three consecutive shots until Salama deflected one that missed right, which Iona rebounded past Salama and inside the net, sending the Gaels to the NCAA tournament. 

The Broncs season ended in the 95th minute of the game. Their final record for the season was 14-5-1.

“Credit to Iona. They have a very good team, but I’m really proud of my guys for the fight and what they’ve done all season,” Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger said. “We had class and integrity all season long with how we went about our success, and I think that’s what I’m most proud of.”