Men's College Soccer
Siena College 4, Rider University 1
LAWRENCEVILLE-The Broncs lost a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game to Siena Sunday afternoon. "We had a number of chances to score goals," said Rider head coach Russ Fager. "If guys take a little bit of time and have a little more poise we could have scored a couple more goals and made the game more interesting."
Rider (2-13-1, 1-5-1 MAAC) cut the lead to 3-1 on a goal by sophomore Dan Friga (Clifton, N.J./Passaic County Tech) with 24 minutes remaining, but that was as close as the Broncs could get. Friga took a crossing pass from junior Jonathan Burd (Kendall Park, N.J./South Brunswick) and scored his third goal of the season.
Siena (9-6-1, 6-1 MAAC) took a 1-0 lead just 3:13 into the game on an 'own goal' when a Siena corner kick was headed into the net by a Rider defender. "The own goal was a difficult thing to overcome that early," Fager said. "We had so many new bodies on the field because of all the injuries there was some confusion on who was supposed to be doing what."
Siena's Emery Welshman scored twice, giving the Saints leads of 2-0 and 3-0.
Siena out-shot Rider 19-12. "Siena is a strong team," Fager said. "They are the first team to qualify for the playoffs."
Rider sophomore goalkeeper Jason Giordano (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) played the final 36 minutes, allowing one goal while making six saves.
Last year Rider lost 4-3 at Siena. The last time Siena came to Lawrenceville the Saints won 2-0. These two teams have now met 16 times since the series began in 1997 with Rider winning five and there have been three ties. The last time Rider defeated Siena was 2004.
Sunday was Rider's final home game of the season. Prior to the game graduating seniors Andrew Cotes (Selden, N.Y./Newfield), Jim Bradley (Washington Twp., N.J./Washington Township) and Alex Baker (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) were honored.
"All three seniors played well for us today," Fager said. "Cotes has been consistent all year, no matter where we put him on the field (midfield or back). Bradley was moved up front and worked hard for us."
Rider travels to Iona for a 2pm game Friday and completes the season Sunday afternoon at Fairfield. "We're going up there hoping to end the season with two wins like we did last year," Fager said.
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