Men's College Soccer
Rider University 3, United States Military Academy 2
LAWRENCEVILLE— The Broncs won their third straight game, defeating Army for the first time ever Wednesday afternoon. “Three wins in a row feels very good,” said Rider head coach Russ Fager.
The last time Rider won three straight was in September of 2007.
“The boys played well enough today that they deserved to win,” Fager said.
The Broncs (3-4) broke a 2-2 tie with two seconds left in the second half on an 'own goal.'
Rider sophomore Sal Lubrano (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) served the ball with five seconds left and the Army goal keeper, Nick Alexander, fought off a charging Rider forward with one hand while trying to catch the ball with the other hand, and he put the ball into his own net.
“Everyone on the team was yelling to shoot it,” Lubrano remembered. “There were only about five seconds left so I just hit it. It was really high and it looked like the goalkeeper just messed it up. It was hard to judge and Friga (Rider freshman Dan Friga) distracted him.”
“I thought Friga got a piece of it,” Fager said, “but as long as the goal is in, that's all that matters. I think the keeper went in, tried to play Friga off of him with the one hand and tried to grab the ball with the other hand and the ball hit his hip or Friga's hip and went in.”
Friga (Clifton, N.J./Passaic County Tech) scored his first collegiate goal just 1:45 into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. Friga scored on a header off of corner kick. “I was concerned that we scored so early,” Fager said. “I was afraid our guys would let down a little bit. With seven freshmen in the line up, that tends to happen and sure enough, they let down a little bit.”
Army's Cole Dietz scored twice in a four minute span to give the Black Knights a brief 2-1 lead. “We had to fight back from that,” Fager said.
Rider freshman Billy Voutsinas (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) scored in the 28th minute to tie the score at 2-2 on a rebound. “Fritz (freshman Ryan Fitzgerald of Yardville, N.J./Steinert) made a great run and I was just there waiting for it.” Fritzgerald took a shot that was saved but came back out Voutsinas, who scored for the first time this year. “Finally,” Voutsinas said. “I finally scored.”
Rider freshman Matt Perrella (North Brunswick, N.J./N. Brunswick) made his first start in goal and made four saves for the victory. “I found out right before the game that I was starting,” said Perrella, who compiled 11 shutouts last year at North Brunswick to earn All-State honors. “Having played in some big games in high school I was pretty confident. It feels great for the team, because the guys played so hard, and it feels great for me, starting my career 1-0.”
“Matt did a good job back in the back for us,” Fager said. “He did a good job coming out of the box and handling the situation.”
Alexander made six saves for Army.
Rider out-shot Army (1-8) 22-11, including 10-4 in the second half.
The Black Knights came into the game having lost three straight 1-0 games, the last two in overtime, and lost five games 1-0 this year. Rider and Army had met 12 times previously since the series began in 1940, with Army winning all 12 meetings, including the last one in 1967.
Rider hosts George Washington University Sunday afternoon in the final non-conference game of the season. “GW is going to be a tough game,” Fager said. “They have some quality players.”
“We're coming together, starting to gel,” Lubrano said. “Everyone is working together."
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