Men's College Soccer
Rider University 1, Marist College 1 (2ot)
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.--The Broncs began the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a tie at Marist Friday night. “We are extremely happy to come into Marist and come away with a tie,” said Rider head coach Russ Fager. “They have a brand new multi-million dollar facility and had a big crowd here tonight.”
Junior AJ Parillo (South River) scored his first goal of the season in the 41st minute off of a corner kick to give Rider (5-4-1, 0-0-1 MAAC) a 1-0 lead. “First one this year, hopefully there will be a couple more,” Parillo said.
“AJ got a great goal off a set piece,” Fager said. “It was really a great goal. He took a ball that was served from the goalie's right, came across the box and got flicked over. He took it from about 20 yards out.”
Senior Lee Tomasso (Westfield) took a corner kick that was received by junior Anthony Gilbert (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks South), who headed it to Parillo. “Lee took the corner and Gilbert flicked it out to me just outside the box and I hit it,” Parillo said.
“The past four or five days AJ has been playing very well in practice,” Fager said. “He's been collecting balls much better and he's been doing a lot of finishing in practice. We put him back up front today and he got a couple of great chances.” Five of Rider's 12 shots were on goal, including two by Parillo.
“Guys come to play every day and it is a constant fight to get on the field,” Parillo said. “That's what you need. I think that is going to push us to do well this year.”
Parillo is one of the few two-sport athletes at Rider, also excelling on the varsity track & field team. Last spring Parillo won a bronze medal at the MAAC championships in the 400m and won a gold as a member of the 4 x 100 relay. “In the fall I love soccer more, and in the spring I might have a different answer,” Parillo said of which sport is his favorite.
Red Fox Corey Perkins scored his team-high fourth goal of the season on a header with just 1:41 left in the second half to tie the score at 1-1. “Marist has a kid who is about 6'5” and he got his head on it from about eight yards out and put it home,” Fager said.
Marist (3-4-2, 0-0-1 MAAC) out-shot Rider 16-9 in regulation, including 11-4 in the second half, but Rider held a 3-1 advantage in shots in overtime. “Marist played very well, they played quick, they played hard, but we were able to deal with the pressure of the game,” Fager said.
Rider junior goalkeeper Jesse Forsythe (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) made eight saves. Tom DeBenedetto made four saves for Marist. “Jesse did a great job today,” Fager said. “He played a very solid game, made some great saves. He was very active. He didn't make many mistakes at all. He did a very credible job.”
The Broncs are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. “This is a good start,” Parillo said. “They had a really big crowd. It was intense. I'll take this result. It was a good tie for us.”
Rider is 9-7-1 against Marist since the series began in 1992. Marist beat Rider 3-2 in Lawrenceville last year. The last time Rider beat Marist was 2004.
Rider travels to Loudonville, NY to take on Siena Sunday afternoon in a MAAC contest.
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