Men's College Soccer
Saint Peter's College 5, Rider University 1
LAWRENCEVILLE-Harry Newman scored three goals to lead Saint Peter's to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory at Rider Friday night.
The Peacocks took a 1-0 lead midway through the first half on a goal by Newman. "We wanted to keep the game tight," said Rider head coach Russ Fager. "We wanted to play as hard as we could and for the first half I thought we did a good job of staying with them."
SPC took a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute of play. SPC made it 3-0 with 23 minutes left to play on Newman's second goal. "They've got some very talented players," Fager said. "When we fell behind we continued to pressure, and when you make a mistake they come down and score. You risk that when you are trying to chase a conference game."
Saint Peter's (5-4, 1-0 MAAC) made it 4-0 on Newman's hat trick, his fifth goal of the season.
Rider (1-9, 0-1 MAAC) cut the lead to 4-1 when sophomore Sam Kotowski (Cranbury, N.J./Princeton) controlled a rebound off the SPC goal and knocked in a bicycle kick from eight yards out. The goal was Kotowski's team-high third of the season and the fifth of his career.
Saint Peter's out-shot Rider 17-15, including 9-6 in shots on goal. "I think we got into the box better," Fager said, "and we did a little bit more of playing with heart today. We have to keep doing that every time we walk onto the field."
Rider sophomore goalkeeper Matt Perrella (North Brunswick, N.J./N. Brunswick) made four saves.
SPC has now won four of its last five games.
Rider defeated the Peacocks 1-0 in the 2009 season final in Jersey City. Rider holds a 20-10 advantage in the series with SPC that began in 1960.
The game featured 32 fouls and 10 yellow cards. "We told the guys we wanted to play tougher," Fager said, "and we wanted to get stuck in more. I think we did that and at times maybe a little bit too crazy."
The contest was a Code Cranberry event which drew over 600 fans to the first men's night game of the season.
Rider is home again Sunday afternoon to host Manhattan in a 2pm MAAC contest. "It's going to be tough," Fager added.
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