Men's College Soccer
Rider University
3, Niagara University 1
LAWRENCEVILLE—The
Broncs notched their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win of the
season, defeating Niagara Sunday. “We put two
good games together,” said Rider head coach Russ Fager, “but today we did what
we couldn't do on Friday, finish.”
After
out-playing Canisius on Friday, only to lose, the Broncs out-played Niagara Sunday and came away with a victory. The victory snapped Rider's three game losing
streak. “We did a much better job
finishing today,” Fager said. “We probably had better chances Friday than we
did today, but we got three quality goals from three guys today.”
Rider (4-7,
1-2 MAAC) took a 1-0 lead on a header goal by senior Nico Tramontana (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) following a 70-yard punt from
freshman goalkeeper Matt Perrella (North Brunswick,
N.J./N. Brunswick).
“I had an
assist my junior year in high school,” Perrella said. “That was pretty exciting today. Having a
strong wind behind me helped and I knew the guys wanted the ball up top so I
went for it but didn't really expect it to result in a goal. It's nice that it
did. I'll take it.”
The Broncs
went up 2-0 with 15 minutes left in the first half on a 25-yard strike from
junior Andrew Cotes (Selden, N.Y./Newfield), who has moved back and forth
between forward and defender this season. “Cotes
has probably played every position but keeper,” Fager said. “The shot he took today was absolutely
fantastic. He brought the ball down and made great contact on the ball and
caught the corner (of the net).”
“Anywhere
on the field is fine with me,” Cotes
said. “Where ever I am going to play
I'll just do my best. I scored from right back today so I guess I can score
from any position.” The goal was the
second of the season for Cotes and the seventh
of his career. “That was one of the top goal I've ever scored,” Cotes said. “I ripped it today and knew it was a goal as
soon as I did. There was a wide open shooting lane.”
Rider made
it 3-0 with 11 minutes remaining when freshman Brenden Noesges (Freehold,
N.J./Freehold Township) scored from 15 yards out for his first collegiate goal.
“Quality timing, he showed a lot of poise and just bent the ball around the
keeper,” Fager said.
Niagara (4-8-1, 2-2 MAAC) broke the shutout with a goal with just
1:07 left to play. “I would have preferred the shutout over the assist,”
Perrella said, “but we won, that's the important thing. It is not about me, it
is about the team.”
Rider
out-shot Niagara 14-13, including 11-3 in the
first half.
Perrella
made four saves and is now 2-1 in the Rider nets. “Matt is playing very well,” Fager said. “We
have three competent goalies. We're trying to keep them all involved. Matt
played a great game today.”
John
Fiutowski made seven saves for the Purple Eagles.
Last year
Rider lost 7-1 at Niagara. These two teams
have now met 13 times since the series began in 1997 with Rider winning seven
with one tie. The last Bronc victory over Niagara
was in 2007 at Rider.
“It feels
great to put two good games together,” Cotes
said, “and next week we're looking to continue that. We should have won Friday
and we dominated today. We're looking to
keep it going.”
Rider
travels to Siena
for a MAAC game Friday. “We've got to put wins back-to-back again,” Fager said.
Perrella
has a goal to go along with his assist. “Hopefully we can win out and make the
playoffs,” Perrella said. “That's our goal.”
-ru-
